Pain of Automail
by LightMyBulb
Summary: Ed was a soldier in the recent Drachman War. Now he's home but he's changed, and what is Drachma planning now? EDxWIN Possible ALxOC Summary sucks but please read! First chapter is OC POV.
1. The Journey to Pain

"But are you sure Dad?" I asked.

"You've already asked me that 20 times, Betheny. I am 100% sure I want this surgery" Lieutenant Grayson Thomas, otherwise known as my dad, replied with certainty. Right now we're both sitting in the car, well more like me driving and Dad sitting. We're on our way to an Automail shop somewhere far in the boondocks. Dad was in the recent Drachman War and lost his leg when his base was ambushed. When he got home after the war, he announced that he was going to get automail, so now I have to drive him out to the middle of nowhere to some cheap Automail Shop even though I'm completely against him getting automail and have been trying to dissuade him from getting it throughout the whole car ride.

"But I've heard the surgery hurts more than losing the limb itself and they say the rehabilitation is agonizing! I just don't want you to have to go through that pain again." I exclaimed at first but then got a bit teary at the end.

"Thank you for caring sweetheart, but I doubt the military would want a guy with one leg to go on serious missions." he said with a sympathetic smile at his daughter who was near tears. _He_ pitied _me_ while he had a one-way ticket to the train of pain that is automail.

"You could get a wooden leg" I still argued even though my attempts to dissuade him were fruitless.

"Feh, a wooden leg would fall apart too easily if I ran around enough. Automail is the only choice. I can't be a cripple my whole life. You know I get fidgety if I don't move around enough." It was true; he was a very active person. He was always moving, he even used to go for a 3 mile jog every morning which is the only reason he's so skinny, considering his diet isn't very healthy. "I'd lose my job and then what? We'd have no way to pay the bills and end up living in a cardboard box." Dad was the only source of income for the house. Ever since mom died, we had struggled with the bills; then dad enlisted in the military because it had a high pay. After that, everything was financially peaceful. If he lost his job now, we would be stealing coins out of hoboes' cups. "Don't worry about the pain. This old man is strong," he said jabbing his thumb at his chest. I opened my mouth to reply but was cut off when he said, "Oh look, we're here,"

We arrived at a small yellow house with a sign if front of it that said "Rockbell Automail" An old woman standing outside smoking a pipe greeted us. "I'm guessing you're Mr. Thomas?" she said to my dad and held out her hand.

"Please, call me Grayson," he replied with a warm smile and shook her outstretched hand.

"Pinako Rockbell." She took one last drag from her pipe. "Come on in"

We walked inside and saw automail parts strewn everywhere. The fact that her house was such a mess when she had customers didn't seem to faze her at all. There were 3 people sitting on the couch. A boy about my age with golden hair tied in a ponytail and piercing gold eyes was in the middle of a heated argument with a pretty girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes. The third person was a boy with sandy brown hair and grey eyes who was trying to break up their argument. "Brother, Winry, stop!" His attempts to calm them didn't work because grabbed a wrench from out of nowhere and clocked the blonde boy on the head with it, hard. That's when she happened to notice us in the doorway. "Hello!" she said cheerfully acting as if we hadn't just watched hit that boy, who was still on the ground, clutching his head. "How are you Mr. Thomas?"

"I feel good thank you," Dad said smiling

"Everything has been prepared for the surgery. Are you ready?" she asked.

"Yes. I can't wait to have a leg again," he said, his smile widening.

"Then let's go!"

"Okay," he said to her then turned towards me,"Just wait out here for me honey," and with that, they both walked to the back room.

I cringed at my dad's screams. The blonde boy and the sandy haired boy were sitting across from me on the couch. The sandy haired boy seemed as nervous as me while the blonde boy held a book in his left hand, reading, not caring about my dad screaming in pain in the other room. That ticked me off. "Um…my name is Alphonse. This is my brother, Edward." he said suddenly, trying to break the awkward silence. Huh, so that's their names. I still didn't speak. My lack of response made him cease his attempt at conversation and we all sat in silence yet again.

Dad screamed again. I couldn't take it anymore. I jumped up and ran towards the back room. I was about to throw open the door when Alphonse stood in front of it. "Trust me. You don't want to go in there."

"But that's my dad! He's in pain! Something's wrong!" I exclaimed trying to get past the armor.

"Nothing's wrong. Your dad is fine" Edward said walking toward us.

"Can't you hear him screaming? Something is wrong!" I screamed.

"There's no reason to scream so keep your damn voice down." he said beginning to get irritated. "It's supposed to be painful. He'll be fine after the surgery is done," he said plainly.

"How do you know? You can't possibly know how my dad feels right now!" I yelled, tears running down my face. Alphonse's eyes widened and he looked to his brother who gave me angered glare. Then he took his coat off and started to take his shirt and gloves off. I was about to ask what the heck he was doing when I saw why. His right arm, all the way up to his shoulder, was automail. He bent down and rolled up his left pant leg, also automail. "I think I _do_ know what I'm talking about"


	2. A Walk with Alphonse

I stood there for a few seconds with my mouth hanging open and probably looking like an idiot. Edward started putting his skirt back on and Alphonse, sensing the tension in the room quickly but stuttered said" U-u-um w-wanna go for a walk?"

"Yes!" I stated and we both practically dashed out of the house. I was glad to escape the awkwardness inside the house, but now I was on a walk with Alphonse and there was another awkward silence until Alphonse found the courage to speak up.

"I'm sorry if brother upset you. He didn't mean it…"

"It's okay. It was my fault, too. I didn't even realize the reason you both might be here was because of automail repairs…"I replied quietly.

"Well, true, Brother does need repairs, but we're also friends of the Rockbells and try to visit when we can," He said, trying to spark more conversation.

"Oh" was all I said. He then tried a different conversational approach.

"Um, if you don't mind my asking…how did your dad lose his leg? It's okay if you don't want to answer.." he mentally kicked himself for asking her that.

After a few more seconds of silence, she answered. "He was in the Drachman War. His military base was ambushed. Some Drachman with a sword swung at him and it cut off his leg. Thankfully one of his comrades killed the guy before he could kill my dad and after pretty much saving his life, he carried my dad all the way to the medical tent somehow without getting shot on the way,"

"Wow, sounds like a good comrade. Who saved him?" Al inquired.

"Dad doesn't know because they were attacked at night and he couldn't see the guy's face. He's not sure his savior could even tell who he was either, other than seeing his uniform and knowing he was an ally. Dad feels bad that he doesn't even know who the guy was so that he could at least thank him."

"Maybe he'll find out one day." Al said and then stated, "You know, Brother was in the War, too. He's just getting a few days of leave right now to get his arm fixed. I'm so glad he didn't get hurt."

"Wait, the kid inside is in the military? He can't be any older than me! How could the military let someone so young join?" I exclaimed in awe. Was the military really so desperate for soldiers that they'd start recruiting kids?

"Believe it or not, Big Brother is the Fullmetal Alchemist. When he took the exam to get a state alchemist certification, they saw he had so much talent that they decided to overlook the age requirement," he said proudly.

"He's the Fullmetal Alchemist? Wow, I never would have thought…" I'd heard about him. You'd have to live under a rock not to. He was pretty famous so how the heck could Edward be Edward _Elric_? Then I remembered something, "Wait I think I remember my dad saying that he was under command of the Fullmetal Alchemist during the war,"

"He probably was. Brother said about 30 people are under his command. Your dad and Ed probably didn't recognize each other out of uniform,"

"Yeah," Hmm, I'd have to ask Dad about that. Wait. Dad! My eyes widened when I remembered. "Hey, do you think Dad's surgery is done yet?"

"Yeah, they should be about finished by now,"

"Then let's go!" I said and grabbed his hand and we both started running for the house. I'm glad to have gotten out of the house for a little while but I still wanted to see if Dad was okay. When we reached the house is when I noticed I was still holding Al's hand. He noticed too; we both quickly let go of the other's hand and walked inside. When we went in I saw Winry walk out of Dad's room. I ran up to her. "Hey Winry, are you guys done with the surgery?" I asked.

"Yes, you can go see him but he's in a lot of pain so don't stay for long" she warned. I ran into his room and saw my dad lying on the patient's bed with a rag on his forehead, his face contorted in pain.

"Hey Dad, how're you feeling?" Well that was a stupid question.

"I've been better." he squeaked.

"Pinako said that tomorrow, you can start the physical therapy if your up to it." I mentioned, trying to distract him from the pain.

"Sounds good, the faster I start walking, the better. So what have you been doing this whole time? I thought I heard you fighting with someone outside the door earlier,"

"Oh…yeah…I got kinda upset and tried to break in here but those 2 boys stopped me and I kinda got into a fight with one of them."

"You just love to argue don't you?"

"Heh heh…yeah…Oh yeah Dad that reminds me! You know that blonde boy? He's the Fullmetal Alchemist!"

"Really? Huh, I thought he looked familiar…"

"What do you mean? Do you know him?" Did he know Dad on the battlefield?

"Yes. He was my commanding officer and a real good guy. We're pretty good friends. When I saw him earlier in the living room, I thought that might have been him…"

"Huh. I wonder why he didn't say anything to you?"

"He probably didn't recognize me out of uniform. Could you ask him to come in here later? I'd like to see him."

"Sure thing. I think I should leave now, Winry said I can't stay too long,"

"Okay, bye Beth,"

"Bye Dad," I walked out of Dad's room and went back into the living room and saw Edward sitting on the couch with his head in a book again. 'Okay, you can do this' I thought. I breathed out and walked over to him. He looked up from his book and saw me coming. I stood in front of him and apologized. "I'm sorry for offending you earlier. Please forgive me!"

"It's alright." he said, setting his book down. "I was in a bad mood and took it out on you so I'm sorry too. Friends?" He asked holding out his flesh hand.

"Friends." I said with a smile and shook his hand.


	3. Reunited

**Yay! happy buddy friend time! anywhoooo…oh yeah story time!**

"_Friends?" he said holding out his hand._

_ "Friends." I said with a smile and shook his outstretched hand._ I'm glad he's not mad anymore because said we were going to stay here until he's done with physical therapy and I didn't want to have to hide from Ed the whole time. "Oh by the way, my dad you to come by his room when you got the chance," Seeing Ed's bewildered face, I explained further. "Dad said he was in the war with you and that you guys are good friends,"

"What's your last name?" he pondered.

"Thomas" I replied.

"That's Lieutenant Thomas? Gosh, I knew he looked familiar. I guess I'll go see him now then," I can't believe it's him. I never knew he lost his leg. I wonder what happened… I turned toward the door but then turned back. "Wait, how did you know I was in the war?"

"Your brother told me,"

"Oh. Okay then" He said simply and then walked to my dad's room.

_Knock knock. _"Come in" a hoarse voice called.

I walked inside. "Hello Edward." Lieutenant Thomas said with a smile when I walked in.

"Hey there Lieutenant."

"Don't call me Lieutenant. We're not on the battlefield anymore. It's so formal."

"Sorry, Gray, force of habit. So, how are you feeling?"

"I've seen better days,"

"Yeah automail's a bitch isn't it?" Ed chuckled

"Yeah, how do you put up with it?"

"Don't worry; it gets less painful with time"

"Hey Ed, I've been wondering, why are you here? The war still isn't over and you seem to be in good health."

"My automail's messed up." he gestured to his right arm, "I can't move it so they sent me home to get it fixed. After I get my new arm, I have to go back." he frowned.

"You shouldn't have to go back. They shouldn't have even sent a kid to the battlefield in the first place."

"Well, I stopped being a kid when I joined the military" They both sat in silence for a few seconds. "Well, enough about me. Let's talk about you. How did it happen, Gray?"

"When our base was ambushed. Some Drachman waving his sword around managed to get my leg but before he could kill me someone else killed him. Whoever killed the Drachman carried me all the way to the medical tent. Whoever it was, was a brave man. I just hope me made it out alive."

Ed was stunned. He remembered carrying someone to the medical tent after they were ambushed. That guy was Gray? Ed decided to keep his newfound realization to himself. He smiled instead and said "I hope so, too"

Then Winry appeared in the doorway holding an automail arm "Hey Ed I got your arm done. You wanna go ahead and put it on?"

"Sure." Ed turned to the Lieutenant. "Sorry guess I have to go. I'll see you later"

"Bye Edward" The lieutenant replied.

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah just get it over with" Ed was sitting in what he'd dubbed the "Chair of Pain" because that was the chair he always sat in when getting automail adjusted. Just then, Betheny walked in.

"What are you guys doing?"

"I'm about to attach Ed's automail. Wanna watch?" Winry asked.

"Sure"

"You just wanna see me pain don't you," Ed said.

"Yes of course," Betheny teased.

"Okay. 1…2…3!" On 3 Winry snapped the automail into place. Beth saw Ed's face contort in pain.

"Uh. I hate it when the nerves connect," When Winry was done adjusting; Ed went outside to spar with Al.

OoOoOoThe Next DayoOoOoO

After Breakfast, a military car arrived for Ed and a big muscular man with a mustache came inside to get Ed.

"Hello Major Armstrong" Winry greeted.

"Good Morning Miss Rockbell" He replied.

"Well, I guess it's time to go" Ed announced when he came into the room. Winry gave him a hug.

"Promise you won't die" she pleaded.

"I swear," Ed said with a smile.

"Goodbye Brother, come home safe" Al said and hugged Ed.

"See ya Betheny. Tell the Lieutenant I said bye too,"

"Alright," I said. And with that, they both got into the military car and drove off. Winry stood there at the window and watched the car drive away until she couldn't see it anymore.

**Sorry! I know it's a bit short. I'm getting writer's block so please feel free to give me ideas for what you'd like to happen next!**


	4. A Heart on the Battlefield

Dear Winry,

Didn't expect me to write did you? Hope you can read my chicken scratch. I have been told I don't have the best handwriting numerous times. How have you been? Do you have any more customers or did you kill them all with a wrench and keen aim? What's Alphonse been up to? I hope he doesn't worry too much. He's always been a worrywart. And how are Lieutenant Thomas and Bethany doing? I can't wait to see Gray walk again. As for me, I'm okay at the moment I guess. The big battle is about to start and I must admit I am a little scared. I don't like killing but I didn't have a choice when I joined the military. I've made a promise to myself. If I find any fallen comrades on the field I will do my best to help them and to make sure they'll be okay. As their commanding officer, my team has to be willing to take a bullet for me but I am also willing to do the same for them. But don't worry I will keep my promise and I will come home and see you again though I might have taken a few bullets too. Just in case I don't make it, I want you to know something. I love you. I don't care if I sound like a big sap or a cLiché because it's the truth. I just wanted you to know that. Tell AL and everyone else I said hi. I'll see you soon.

-Ed

"Major, it's time to go," I turned around and saw 1st Lieutenant Kyle Gradson standing at the door in uniform holding his gun with a melancholy look on his face. He was in his early thirties and didn't like going into war any more than I did. He was another one of the military friends I'd made. During the war, all of the death and trauma I saw had really taken a toll on me so Havoc offered me a cigarette. "Trust me, you need it" he'd said when I tried to reject the offer. I ended up trying it. Ever since then I have been a smoker. Kyle smoked too and sometimes we'd sit outside with our cigarettes and talk about our families waiting back at home. He'd shown me a picture of his wife and two kids and told me about his home life. He was a nice guy and we were friends instantly. Now we were entering battle together.

I sighed. "Alright, let's go," And with that, we walked out the door.

Bullets were flying everywhere. Bodies were piling up. It was impossible to tell who was winning. I was sitting behind a rock and quickly tending to my wound. I had been careless and now had a bullet in my left shoulder. I also had a deep cut on my face that traced my jaw line and ended under my right eye and would surely leave a scar. I ripped off part of my uniform shirt and wrapped it around the wound to stop the bleeding but ignored the cut on my cheek. It wasn't too deep but still hurt a lot. I wasn't hurt too bad so I jumped from behind the rock and shot any soldier who shot at me. Suddenly, I heard a familiar scream. I turned and saw Kyle on the ground clutching his leg where he was obviously shot. A Drachman soldier was standing above him about to shoot his head. I ran as fast as I could and transmuted a giant fist out of rock that hit the man and knocked him out cold. I got to Kyle and saw him in immense pain. "C'mon Kyle, we gotta get you to the medical tent," I said.

"Just leave me before you get shot. I'm as good as dead,"

"No! I promised myself I wouldn't leave a fallen comrade behind! Besides, think of your kids, they can't grow up without a father!" I grabbed his arm and got him to stand and wrapped his arm around my shoulder and we hobbled over to the medical tent amazingly without getting shot. The doctors immediately swarmed around him and took him to a bed.

"Major, you've been shot!" A nurse exclaimed when she saw my shoulder.

"Don't worry, it's not too bad." I said and began to walk out when I heard a voice barely above a whisper say, "Thank you Edward"

"Welcome, Kyle" I smiled without turning and then ran back out into the battlefield.

Winry sat in her living room reading Ed's letter as silent tears rolled down her cheeks. I love you too, she thought "Just don't die on me, Edward." she whispered.

By the time I noticed, it was too late. The bomb was already in the air. "Fullmetal!" the colonel yelled. Next thing I knew I was flying though the air and landing roughly on the ground at least 100 feet from where I was previously standing. I instantly felt an oddly familiar pain in my right leg. I looked down at it. "Oh crap" I squeaked. My right leg was gone halfway up my thigh. I fought the strong urge to scream in pain. I was in the middle of a battlefield and quickly losing too much blood. I managed to drag myself behind a large rock to shield myself from oncoming bullets. I was starting to get lightheaded.

"Fullmetal!" I heard the colonel scream again. He ran over to me and crouched down to take a look at me. "You're losing too much blood!"

"Really? Didn't notice." I squeaked sarcastically. Then everything went black.

Mustang's POV

He passed out. Damn! there's no time to get him to the Medical tent. He could bleed to death by then. What do I do? Then Mustang got an idea. "Sorry kid. This is gonna hurt, a lot," He tugged on his ignition gloves and snapped.

**Gasp! OMG did Mustang kill Ed? You'll have to wait and see! BTW sorry I didn't update this past week. I was at summer camp…**


	5. Some Scars Never Heal

Ed's Pov

When I opened my eyes, I found myself staring up at the inside of the cheap military medical tent. When I passed out, I had still been on the field. Who had brought me here? It was then that he registered the commotion around him. Apparently, he wasn't the only one in here. I turned my face to the side to see what was happening around me. There were at least 15 other wounded soldiers in the tent. Some that had minor injuries or were already treated sat on the floor while the ones with gunshot wounds and missing limbs like me were occupying the beds. One guy was laying on a bed desperately trying not to scream while a doctor hovered over him, tending to his deep gunshot wound. Then I finally noticed the familiar face sitting on floor. He had a few bandages on his face and a sling around his left arm.

"Colonel…" I breathed. I remember now. Before I ended up here I had woken up for a few brief moments, but that was long enough to register the new burning sensation where my stump of a leg was. I opened my eyes and saw Mustang and a soldier from my squad carrying me while running as fast as they could. After that I had blacked out again.

3rd Person

Colonel Mustang looked up when he heard his rank. He saw that Ed was awake and was obviously the one who called him. He got up and walked over to the kid's bed. "Hey, Fullmetal. How're you feeling?"

"Never better." Ed said sarcastically. Though his body protested, he sat up in the best and cringed. "Ahh... it hurts."

"I wasn't sure you were gonna make it. I'm glad you didn't die." Mustang said for once being kind.

"Well, well, never thought I'd see the day when The Flame Alchemist talked about something other than women. This truly is memorable." Ed joked.

"You little brat." The colonel muttered. He knew Ed heard him and was waiting for when the kid would lose his cool about being called 'little'. Mustang was surprised when Ed just stayed there sitting in bed chuckling softly to himself with a sad smile on his face. 'He's changed.' The colonel thought. Ever since they were shipped off to this godforsaken wasteland Ed had surely acted different. Roy felt for the kid and didn't think it was right when Fuhrer Grumman gave the young boy the letter which told him he was being drafted. The kid's too young to have to see this bloodshed. Despite that, they were shipped off. First, they had to go to a two-month boot camp to train. Roy had gone to boot camp when he was sent to Ishbal but he still had to go to boot camp a second time. His first time there was hard but training like that again was even worse. His age must have been catching up to him. Throughout the whole boot camp he kept a careful watch on Ed. Though he didn't like to admit it, he was worried about the kid. The whole time Edward's face was stone cold. He performed orders as many times as they made him, but didn't complain once. He also found out later after they were sent to war that Ed started smoking. He'd found Ed sitting outside smoking cigarettes with a soldier from his squad. They were having a conversation and Roy couldn't help but eavesdrop. The soldier was holding up a picture and smiling.

'_My wife, Hannah and my two daughters, Ellen and Senna.' he said, pride oozing from his pores. Great, another Maes Hughes, Roy thought. 'What about your family?' the soldier asked. Roy noticed a pained expression flicker on the boy's face but it was quickly covered up with a fake smile. 'Both of my parents are dead and it's just me and my little brother left…' 'Oh, I'm sorry…' the soldier said with an apologetic look on his face. 'It's okay!' Ed said way too quickly that Roy could easily tell it was not. Edward's sad expression receded after he took a long drag from his cigarette._


	6. I'm Comin' Home

Sorry I haven't updated in forever guys! I had a case of writer's block and pure laziness… I had just received only review recently but that's all it took to get me writing again! See what reviewing can do? Be sure to thank the Pyro, whose review inspired me! please, don't hesitate to give me story ideas, I could use em… Onward with the chapter! :O

BTW don't know if mentioned this before or not but, Ed is 18, Winry is 17, and Al is 16… :D

This also pertains more manga/brotherhood…

Riza is a Captain

Ed's POV

Well, it seems the big battle is over… Amestris was the victor. Even though Drachma was much bigger and with more soldiers they only fought with brute strength. Amestris may be smaller, but it's a force to be reckoned with, considering Amestris has a lot of experience with war, and has good strategy.

When General Mandel announced that we were to go home, all the men threw their hats in the air and cheered. My enthusiasm didn't show as much as theirs, but I was ecstatic about going home. 'I can't believe it…I made it out alive…' I thought. And I really hadn't expected to survive. I was just some damn kid thrust into war without even knowing what he was doing. Though the only person I can blame is myself. If I hadn't wanted even a chance of being sent out I could have just resigned from the military. After all, I already completed my goal. Al was flesh and blood again. Almost 2 years ago they had found the way to get Alphonse his body back, through Alchahestry. When Al got his body back he was malnourished and very weak but also very happy.

So why did I stay in the military if I completed all that I aimed to do? I don't know really… Maybe it was out of familiarity. I can't really see myself working anywhere else. Alchemy is my only talent. And though I hate to admit it, I'd miss all the friends I'd made here, too. Riza, Jean, (We were all on a first name basis now), Heymans, Kain, hell, even Mustang, they were like a family to me as I was to them. Jean now referred to me as his little brother now, instead a co-worker, or a friend. I didn't mind the 'little' part now. I guess war has mellowed me out a bit…

That night his 'family' visited the cot he resided in ever since he was injured and smuggled in beer and cigarettes and the five of them talked and laughed the night away, the burden on their shoulders finally lifted.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The next day, the soldiers packed their things and were on their way home. They were crammed onto one train headed to Central, where they would meet their families and head home.

"I can't believe we made it," Roy said out of the blue, 10 minutes after their train left. Their friends all looked up at him with mild surprise.

"Yeah, it's a miracle 'aint it?" Havoc replied with his usual unlit cigarette between his lips, a bit of his country accent shining through. "We're on our way home…It just seems so unreal…"

"Going home is the only good part of war…" Roy voiced, speaking from experience. Riza smiled knowingly and silently agreed with him. After those few words the train ride was silent for the rest of time they were on it, a total of 7 hours. Oddly enough, the silence was comforting.

When the train arrived at the station the veterans stood, nervous and excited to see their families again. Jean pushed Ed's wheelchair out since Roy couldn't, what with his arm in a sling. The crowded soldiers eagerly filed out of the train. As Ed was wheeled out, he could hear cheers and cries of the soldiers' families.

It only took seconds for his blonde mechanic to spot him in the crowd of blue jackets. Al was with her, along with Betheny and Gray, who was now walking with a cane, but he was _walking_. It had only been a little over a year since he had left. Winry walked up to him shaky and teary eyed. Jean gave them their privacy and silently left to see his family. Winry ran across the distance between them and bent down to hug him tightly, the dam holding her tears releasing. Ed blushed mildly at the small distance between them. He may have changed, but he still got nervous around her. Then, he remembered the letter he sent her and blushed even more.

"H-hey Winry. Good to see you…"

She pulled back from the hug and smiled with tears still in her eyes, "Welcome back you idiot,"

After that, Ed reunited with his family and friends and soon they were all on their way home. Ed was surprised that nobody mentioned his leg. He figured they'd ask about later, when they all had more privacy.

Ed really looked at Winry as they came upon the porch of the Rockbell home. She had changed her hair, keeping it down instead of in its usual ponytail. Her clothes had changed, too. She was wearing a light pink jacket and long pants instead of her tank top and miniskirt. He liked her more this way… Her face had changed also, losing its leftover baby fat. Now, she looked like an adult as did Ed. He had gotten taller since he left and was now a full head taller than Winry. His face was that of an adult, and (as he predicted) he now sported a large scar on his face from the cut he had gotten before.

They walked inside the yellow house and were greeted by Winry's grandmother, Pinako Rockbell. She smiled at first, but her face turned gloomy when she Ed in the wheelchair. The sadness was quickly erased and replaced by a maternal smile he had never seen her wear before. "Welcome back, shrimp. Want some stew?"

Stew was Ed's favorite and she knew it. There was no way he could deny it. "Of course, you old hag," Neither of them were no longer annoyed by the comments, and they merely spoke to regain a sense of the old times. It wasn't the same, but that's alright. He's home now.


	7. Sparks Fly and a Surprise

A small noise had startled Ed awake. He was immediately alert and wide awake as he sat up in his bed and scanned the room for the source. He relaxed when his eyes landed on the window to his room, which was slightly open. A tree sat right next to the other side of the window and the wind outside had been rustling its leaves, the mysterious noise.

'I guess I'm not used to being home.' he thought. During the war, he had had to sleep outside in trenches, and it wasn't uncommon for an enemy to attempt to sneak in and kill them. So, he became a light sleeper, because the faintest noise could be the footsteps of the enemy.

Even though he found the source of the noise he still felt antsy. He hadn't had a cigarette all day, and it was starting to get to him. He slipped out of bed and into the wheelchair at his bedside. He wheeled over to his military jacket, which was currently discarded on the floor, and grabbed his pack of cigarettes. After wheeling out the front door and onto the porch he took out a cigarette and lit it. Seconds later he was completely calm when he inhaled the nicotine he had been craving.

Suddenly, the front door opened behind him. Startled, he looked to see Winry, in the T-shirt and shorts she usually slept in. "What are you doing out here?" he asked, taking a drag from his cigarette, not caring if she saw him smoking.

She seemed surprised that he was smoking but didn't mention it. "You're not as quiet as you think." she replied, walking over to stand next to him, "I could hear your wheels creaking on the floorboards from upstairs,"

"Oh," was all he said, and they stood in comfortable silence for about a minute until Winry spoke.

"What happened, Ed?" she asked, her voice quivering though she did not cry. Though she wasn't specific, he knew what she meant. After a few more seconds of silence he answered her.

"Wasn't paying attention. The next thing I know a grenade is in the air and headed straight for me." His voice showed no emotion.

It was Winry this time who simply said, "Oh," A few seconds later she asked,"Do you you want automail?"

This earned a small smile from Ed, who blew the smoke from his mouth and replied. "What do you think?"

Winry lightened up a little at seeing him smile. "Yeah, I doubt you wanna sit in a wheelchair for the rest of your life. Then you couldn't run around and destroy cities and fight bad guys," she chuckled.

He laughed too and said, "Of course. I'm the official asskicker of Amestris. There's no telling what this country would be like if it wasn't for me," he joked. She laughed.

There was another silence yet again, but this one was comfortable, lighthearted.

"I read your letter," she spoke. Ed immediately turned beet red.

"Oh really?" he choked out.

"Yes...," she then did the last thing Ed expected her to do. She planted her lips right on his. He was surprised at first and froze up but then started kissing her back. They let up for air, both breathing harder. "I love you, too," she whispered, though still loud enough for him to hear. He was the one who initiated the kiss this time. When they pulled back again, they smiled at each other, both blushing a bit. He took her hand and pulled her down on his lap and then wrapped his arms around her waist. She smiled and didn't protest. They sat there for a while in a happy silence and watched the night sky.

After a while they started getting sleepy and both went back inside, into their rooms, smiling.

"Come on, get up," Ed merely groaned and put his pillow over his head. "Dammit, Ed, get out of bed!"He still didn't respond. Betheny then had an idea. She leaned close to his ear and said, "Winry's making breakfast..." That did the trick. Ed immediately sat up in bed and moved to sit in his wheelchair. Betheny walked back to the kitchen as he frantically changed his clothes. Winry was at the stove in the kitchen, cooking eggs and bacon for the current house of 6.

"Is Ed getting up?" Winry asked as Beth set the table.

"Yep. As soon as I mentioned food, he was wide awake," she laughed.

"Hmm...maybe I should try that technique sometime..."

"Yeah, Ed used to never wanna get up before..." Gray chimed in, laughing heartily. He had been sitting on the couch, sipping coffee. He stood up, grabbed his cane, and limped to the table and sat down in one of the available chairs. Alphonse, who'd also been sitting on the couch, joined him. Ed wheeled in seconds later wearing a long sleeved, buttoned up, white shirt and long brown pants, his hair worn in a low ponytail. His style of clothing was much different now than it was a few years ago.

"Mornin' sleepyhead," Winry greeted him, a wide smile on her face.

"Hey," he said, wearing a smile equally as wide. Their mutual happiness was unusual but the other residents of the household didn't mention it. Everyone ate their breakfast shortly after and were now getting up to go do their different activities for the day. Beth was getting out the equipment they'd need for their customers for the day. Ever since she and her dad had moved in she insisted on doing some kind of work in order to earn their right to stay there. Beth was curious about the medical field and automail was the closest thing to it there. She now helped Winry with repairs and adjustments on the limbs and found that she actually liked it. The two had grown close over the year Beth had stayed there.

"Hey, Ed!" Winry called," I wanna do a check up on your automail. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, sure," he answered and got himself into "the chair of pain." He shook off his shirt and pants, leaving only his boxers on, though he didn't seem to really care. Winry sat in the chair behind his back to check his shoulder plates when she noticed something that made her gasp.

"You got a tattoo?"

Nice funny moment :D I'd like to know, what do you guys think of Betheny? Should she stay or does she not belong? What about Gray? Please reply, I'd love to know your opinion!


	8. Deja Vu

"You got a tattoo?" Winry exclaimed when she saw Xingese dragon gracing the back of Ed's shoulder blade.

"Oh yeah..." Ed answered, remembering how he got it. "Funny story actually...we were all pretty wasted one night and one of my friends was an amateur tattoo artist.." he began, launching back into his memory. It was about 1 year and a half ago, and it had been a hard day for them all. Ed, Roy, Jean, Gray, Riza, and a few other officers Ed had known went out to a bar when they got a little bit of leave. All the men had, gotten drunk, and Riza had enough sense to pretend she didn't know them and go back to the hotel. After a few hours, it was just Ed, Roy, Jean, and Gray left giggly and drunk. Ed spied one of his men in the bar and got a "great" idea. The man was named Shon Sohn, a Xingese immigrant who had only joined the military a year ago. Ed heard he had been a part time tattoo artist back in Xing and thus the idea formed.

The group dragged Shon back to their rooms and asked for tattoos. Havoc got...what do you know...a naked girl on his bicep. Roy had gotten a black raven in the same spot. Ed and Gray had gotten the tattoos on their shoulder blades. Having them in the same spot represented some sort of companionship between the two. Gray had gotten a simple barbed wire fence, while Ed had gotten his dragon.

The next day, all four of them woke up with terrible hangovers and Havoc found not only the tattoo on his arm, but an earring in his left lobe also. Needless to say, they were never getting drunk again.

"Wow..." Winry said taking a closer look at the tattoo. It wasn't gaudy, tacky, or "badass" as Ed described his taste. It was fierce, yet elegant, truly beautiful. "What do these symbols mean?" she asked. Next to the dragon there were 2 Xingese characters written beautifully.

"You know, I've been wonderin' that myself." Ed answered, "I never got a chance to see him after that, so I couldn't ask."

"Hmm...Well, I like it,"

"Heh, thanks," He said, blushing slightly. "Hey Gray, Why don't you show them yours?" Gray proudly lifted the back of his shirt up to show the room his tattoo.

"What the hell, Dad? Why would you get a tattoo?" Betheny exclaimed.

"Aww...can't your daddy have a little fun sometimes?" he pleaded, fake tears running down his face. Beth and Gray continued to tease each other while the other residents of the house merely chuckled at them being so childish.

Ed put his shirt back on when Winry asked, "Want me to get the measurements for your leg?"

"Yeah, the sooner, the better..." he replied as she got out her measuring tape.

"You're getting automail for your other leg, aren't you brother..." Alphonse stated more than questioned.

"Of course, Al. I'm not gonna spend the rest of my life like this. Besides, you know how fidgety I get when I sit around for too long,"

"Yeah but..."

"There's no need to worry, I'll be fine," Ed told him as Winry finished measuring.

"Give me a few days and it'll all be ready. You can choose when to have the surgery,"

"I'd like to have it as soon as possible..."

4 Days Later

Ed was currently sitting on the same bed he'd sat on 7 years ago when he'd first gotten his metal limbs getting prepped for the surgery. 'Here I am again.' he thought as a feeling of deja vu ran over him. Winry suddenly sat down in a chair next to him holding various types of medical tools that made him very nervous. Though she tried hard not to, a single tear ran down her cheek at the thought of having to perform this painful procedure on her recent boyfriend, her childhood friend, her lifelong friend.

"Are you sure, Ed?" He sat up and wiped the tear off her cheek with his thumb.

"Yes, I'm sure. Don't worry, I'll get through it, don't you worry," he said, giving her a light kiss before laying back down. Granny walked to him other side. She would have been smirking at the two of them, who looked to be finally together after years of denial, if the situation hadn't been so grim.

"Well, let's get started,"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Al couldn't concentrate on reading his book, all the while his brother was in the other room in unimaginable pain. Beth and he were sitting on the counch, pretending not to know what was going on in the other room. Al finally slammed his book closed in frustration.

"Wanna go for a walk?" Bethany asked. With a quick nod of his head, they were outside walking down the dirt road that lead to the Rockbell home. As they were walking, Alphonse felt a sense of deja vu come over him.

"Ed is strong," Betheny told him. "He hasn't screamed at all,"

"Yeah," Al said with a small smile, "Brother is the strongest person I know. He didn't scream the fist time he had the surgery, and he was only 11 years old then!"

They spent hours walking around the tiny town and getting to know each other. Beth learned that Alphonse liked cats, he liked to touch people (hugs, pat on the shoulder...etc), He had lost his mother when he was only 5 years old, his dad died a few years ago (and he barely even knew the guy) and his middle name was Phinneus, which she would not stop teasing him about. Al learned that lost he mother to a car accident 5 years ago, that daisies were her favorite flower, she liked to draw and would sometimes sit outside all day just sketching everything she saw, she was deathly afraid of elephants, and she used to be bullied when she was younger because of her shyness and social awkwardness, though she seemed to have grown out of that and embraced a different personality.

By the time they got home, it was 5:00 pm and Ed's surgery was over with. Al would've gone to see him, but Winry said he passed out shortly after the surgey was over and he needed his rest.

Beth's dad went back to work today, though they'd still be staying with the Rockbells for a few more months until he gets enough money to get back on his feet.

Gray got home at 7:00pm and they all ate shortly after. A few hours later they starte to wind down and go to bed. Beth got up from the couch and stretched. "Goodnight, Al," she said to said boy who had been reading next to her previously.

"Oh,um, goodnight...to you..too..." Winry watched them from the kitchen and couldn't help but smirk.

So what'd ya think? Is there anything I need to work on? Also, do you want the next xhapter to include Ed's rehabilitation, or have a small time skip? What would you like to see more of in this story? Romance? Action? Humor? Please send me a message or a review telling me what you want and I will froever appreciate it! :)


	9. To Heal and to Burn

It had been a week and a half since Ed had had his surgery. Winry had wanted Ed to stay in bed for at least two weeks before they started physical therapy, but he wore down her defenses and they were starting today. She was worried, to say the least. The first time he had gotten automail, Ed had caught a bad fever and got very sick. Truthfully, he was too young and his body was too small to cope with how much energy it took out of him, not to mention, he would push his phyysical therapy sessions to point he was coughing up blood, and she didn't want that to happen again.

They were currently in the physical therapy room (creative name, right?) which sat right next to the room where all the surgeries took place. There were 2 bars in the middle of the floor used to help patients learn to walk again. This was where Ed would be spending the next hour.

She and Ed were the only one's in the house; Pinako had gone to the market and wouldn't be back until evening, Gray was at work, and Beth and Al went on another walk. Winry couldn't help but notice how close the two were getting... she was happy for them, Al could use a girlfriend. Since he hadn't had a physical body for four years and was returned at the age where he'd hit puberty, four years of hormones came crashing down on him all at once;it made him self concious and sometimes a nervous wreck. Some people thought he was weird simply because he liked to touch people, of course, they'd think different if they knew he hadn't had the privelege of touch for 4 years.

Ed was getting prepared for his physical therapy, the first of many long, agonizing sessions. 'It'll be easier this time, though,' he thought. After all, he was older, taller, more tolerant of pain, and only had to learn to use _one _automail limb. He'd heard Havoc was up and walking again. Roy had used the Philosopher's Stone to give Havoc the ability to walk before he used it on himself to cure his blindness. Of course, Havoc hadn't been up and walking right after the transmutation. Oh _no._It had only givin him the _ability _to walk again. Havoc still had to go through a whole year and a half of physical therapy to be able to walk completely normal again. 'I gotta give him props,' Ed thought, 'After all, he had to learn how to both of his legs at the same time, but, he made it through. And Ed would, too.

The first step was agonizing, but the second was even worse. He had only taken a few more steps before he collapsed in pain. Winry helpedd up, telling him to try again and he started over. They continued this over and over again for another hour and Ed was exhausted. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was out like a light, at only 4:00 in the afternoon. He didn't get up again until 8:00am the next day, and their schedule continued.

Ed was doing good, well, at least better than he was before. Though he was starting to cough up blood, so Winry made him take a rest every few days. It had already been 6 months since his surgery, and he made great progress, now using a cane to walk around. Even Gray was amazed, considering it took him twice as long as Ed to get to that point.

"Hey, Ed, wanna go walk?" Gray asked one day,"It'd do you good to excercise yer leg,"

"Sounds good," and with that, they were off.

"So... ," Gray started when they got outside, "How've you been, sir?"

"Weren't you the one who told me to drop the formalities?" Ed chuckled.

"Heh, force of habit,"

"Well... I think I'm making good progress with the automail. In the blink of an eye I'll be up and runnin' again,"

"That's good..." Gray smiled, then his face darkened, and he asked another question, "What about the war? Did we lose anyone?" By anyone, he meant the good friends they'd both made while at that hellhole.

"I don't think so, the last time I checked they were all alive and well, probably with their families now."

"We sould visit thet where them." Gray suggested, "Find out where they live and one day just go and see 'em. Catch up."

"Hmm...doesn't sound too bad...I heard Shon lives in Reole, I'd like to pay him a visit, find out what those symbols mean," He agreed, then gesturing to his tattoo.

"Sounds like a plan," he said and they shook on they got home, they looked through phone books and was able to find a few guys' addresses.

"Hey, Win, what's for dinner?" Ed asked an hour later. Gray would've voiced his agreement if his grumbling stomach hadn't spoken. Ed's growled, too.

"Ed, I'm busy right now. If you guys are hungry, made your own dinners," Winry denied while trying to working on an automail arm for a customer coming in the next day.

That was a terrible idea. She heard yelling and when she walked into the kitchen, she saw why. The toaster was on fire. On _fire. _How did they manage that? She quickly filled a glass with water and poured it over the small fire, effectively putting out its flames. Well, the toaster was ruined, that's for sure. Ed and Gray stopped panicking when they saw the fire was put out. As Winry looked in the toaster, she found the culprit. One piece of what was supposed to be toast but instead looked like a square piece of charcoal. With a sigh, she threw the ruined toast away and put on her apron. "Men. Can't do a simple task right..." she muttered as she started making dinner. Ed and Gray took this chance to sneak out of the kitchen and hopefully avoid Winry's wrath that waas sure too come later.

Well I attempted to do the rehabilitation ^^U Hope you liked! Also, I really need some ideas for how to continue this...I've got a vague idea for the next chapter but other than that I've got zilch, so I would really appreciate a few simple ideas from you guys, just enough to get the gears inmy head movin again!


	10. Trip to Central

After another 2 months, Ed was up and walking again, totaling his rehabilitation time at 8 months. As soon as he was able to run, he started sparring with every day, trying to "get back in shape." Today, he decided to travel to Central, and see how his fellow veterans had been faring these last 8 months. Winry was coming too; she wanted to visit Gracia and 'Miss Riza.' Al decided to stay at home, to give Ed and Winry some time alone together. Pinako had informed him about their new relationship, and he'd be sure to make fun of them as soon as they get home, because that's what little brothers are supposed to do.

After a four hour train ride of just enjoying each other's company, Ed and Winry boarded off the train and started toward Central; no one was here to pick them up this time because they had wanted their visit to be a surprise, so no sparkling Armstrong. Tragic.

"Ow…," Winry complained rubbing her butt as she and Ed exited the train,"God, my ass hurts. How did you ride on trains for four years?"

"Eh, you get used to it. If you're lucky, your ass'll go numb..." he chuckled.

Beth's POV (finally! ^^U)

Beth was alone in the Rockbell home for the moment, her father was at work, and Alphonse was God knows where… and she was just. SO. BORED.

"Ahh…there's nothing to do in this damn old house…" she moaned, though no one could hear her. She was currently lying down on the couch upside down, her head almost touching the floor, and her feet on top of the back rest. She leaned her torso to the left, towards the bookshelf and looked through books, doing her best to read the bindings upside down. Where the blood started rushing to her head she sat up. Now able to read the bindings, she found quite a few medical books that looked promising and got to work on reading them. She wanted to be a doctor someday so she was content with the reading material.

An hour later she was still reading when Al walked in the front door. "Have you seen Granny?" he asked worried.

"No, I haven't seen her all day…"

"Crap…she went to town again today but she was supposed to be home hours ago." Huh, so that was why the house was so quiet.

"Well, I'm sure she'll turn up. She probably just made a few extra stops…"

"Yeah, I hope your right…" Alphonse muttered, walking to his room in the back of the house. Ahh…silence again…

Ed's POV

Winry was off on her way to Gracia's house and Ed had just arrived at HQ. The receptionist inside pointed him 'Brigadier General' Mustang's office. So he got promoted again. Great…

As usual, he didn't even bother to knock before walking in. The occupants of the office all looked up in surprise and saw Ed. He took a seat in the comfy couch next to Mustang's desk.

"Hey there, Mustang. Miss me?" he asked with a cocky smile planted onto his face.

Once he snapped out of his stupor, along with everybody else, he answered, "I _was_ having a good day…until you came along…" he chuckled.

"Well too bad! I'm already here." Ed said feeling a sense of home at the casualty between the 2 old friends.

"It's good to see you up and walkin' again," Havoc piped in, "How's the new leg?"

"It took a while to get used to, but it's not much of a problem now…"

"That's good…"

"Hehe thanks… So Brigadier General -"

"Fullmetal," Mustang interrupted, "I was about to head out for lunch. Join me." It wasn't a request, but an order. Roy didn't even wait for Ed to answer him and just got up and started walking out. Ed hopped off the couch and ran out to catch up.

They both walked down the long hallway towards the front of Headquarters, where the cafeteria was. Ed was confused when Roy continued to walk past the cafeteria and opened his mouth to say something when Roy answered him, "I feel like eating at home today," he said, never having stopped walking. Ed ran to catch up again as Roy was walking out the front doors of HQ. Something was definitely wrong. Ed knew for a fact that Roy never ate at home. He preferred to flirt with his female coworkers in the cafeteria. Roy had something important to talk to him about, something that he didn't want to be overheard.

They walked in silence until they reached what Ed assumed to be Roy's house. It was small and neat, painted a dark blue, and had freshly cut green grass. The inside was just as neat as the outside, if it hadn't been for the furniture Ed wouldn't have been too sure anyone actually lived here. If only Roy's office were this clean…

"So, what's the matter?" Ed asked as soon as Roy had closed the door.

"Ah, perceptive are we, Fullmetal?" he grinned but then turned serious as he sat down at his table. Ed took the seat across from him and leaned back in the chair, waiting for Roy to speak. Roy took a deep breath and spoke.

"I think Drachma may be planning something, something big."

"What? But we just had a bloody war with them less than a year ago! Why would they plan to attack us?" Ed exclaimed. Roy just sighed.

"I'm not sure, but we sent 2 agents to Drachma 6 months ago undercover as Drachman soldiers. They informed us that they are definitely planning something," Roy handed him a folder. The contents inside were letters from the agents, explaining what the man knew. Apparently one overheard two Generals' conversation. They talked about Amestris and how we were going to pay when we saw what they had in store for us, though they said nothing about what they were specifically going to do.

"That was all they sent us so far." Roy continued, "We haven't heard from them in months… I think they may have been captured…"

"Captured? If the Drachmans found out these agents were Amestrian spies they'd kill them without hesitation."

"I don't know… I think they might keep them alive to use as hostages in the future, when they put their plan into action. Maybe try to pry information out of them. I've heard the Drachmans are cruel and merciless torturers. I don't want it to come to that…"

"Mustang… who are these agents…?" The handwriting had looked awfully familiar…

"Master Sergeant Fuery and Second Lieutenant Falman; their appearances were the most similar to Drachman… I don't want them to get hurt…"

"Neither do I, Roy, neither do I… So, why'd you bring me here? There's gotta be more. You got a mission for me?"

"Yes, actually, I do, Fullmetal. I'm sorry to ask this of you only right after you've recovered, and you can always say no…"

"Don't be sorry, Roy. It's weird and too out of character for you. Besides, I've been itchin' to do somethin' for months now. So, what's my mission?"

Roy took a deep breath and spoke, "I would like for you to go undercover as well. Like Falman and Fuery did, you will infiltrate Drachman forces. I would like you to find what they are planning and, if possible, stop it."

"What about Falman and Fuery?"

"Try to find them, see if their alright…"_if they're still alive…_

"What about my appearance? Drachmans have dark hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. I clearly have none of that…"

"Don't toy with me, Fullmetal. You and I both know you can easily and convincingly change your appearance, so don't give me that bullshit! This is serious!" Roy was starting to get angry. The stress and worry for his friends was starting to get to him…

"I know…sorry Roy…Just trying to lighten things up…" Ed took out his cigarettes, starting to get antsy again from lack of nicotine, and lit up, not caring if Roy protested or not. And he didn't. "I'm worried about 'em, too…"

It was in this moment that Roy took a good look at Edward, what he had become. He was no longer short anymore, but standing with Roy himself at 5'11 and still growing. His long blond hair had been cut a little bit shorter than it was a few years ago, and his normal hairstyle was now a ponytail instead of a braid. He had gone to a war, at the tender age of sixteen and was now a moderate smoker at age eighteen. He had a jagged scar across his right cheek and under his jaw from a midnight attack back in Drachma. His tired, golden eyes held years of wisdom…and suffering far beyond a boy, no, a man his age. He was strong, always helping others get back up when they couldn't take it anymore. Yet Ed had not broken down once, not even during the war. Edward was so much younger than Roy, yet the years they had known each other, the time they'd spent together, and tragedies they've helped each other through… they had become as close, maybe even closer, as Roy and Maes were… Roy held the utmost respect for this man, his best friend, and he trusted him more than anyone else, that's why he picked Ed for this.

Apparently, Roy had spaced out for a little while because when he looked up, he saw Ed looking at him with concern. "You okay?" he asked through the cigarette between his lips.

Roy gave a small smile. "Yeah, just spaced out…" Remembering what they had been talking about before, Roy straightened up, "You don't have to take the job. You have time to think about it…" Edward nodded.

"Alright," he said getting up and pulling cigarette from his lips and blowing out smoke, "I'll think about it" He headed for the door. That's when Roy remembered something.

"Ed wait…" he pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and gave it to the curious man.

"There's a ball next week, to celebrate us veterans coming home. You are required to attend if physically possible and in full uniform…" He laughed when he saw Ed's disgusted face, "Fun, right?"

"Yeah, real fun…" he murmured sarcastically, stuffing the invitation into his pants pocket.

"You should just stay in Central for now, instead of going home…have a little vacation. You brought the Rockbell girl, didn't you? Call up Al and see if he can come, too."

A smile graced his features, "Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks, Roy…" He opened the front door and walked out, leaving the door open.

"See you 'round, Ed," Roy put up his hand in a half wave.

Ed, without even turning around, brought up his right hand in a halfhearted wave, not speaking.

AN/ Woo hoo! Chapter 10! Never thought I'd get here Thank you for all your wonderful reviews so, as a gift, I give you an incredibly long chapter! In my opinion at least… :D I still haven't been given any plot ideas though… -^- Please, give me your ideas! They don't have to be elaborate or even well thought out, I just appreciate it if you answer So send your ideas and I'll give some replies next chapter! See you then!


	11. Phone Call

Edward decided to go visit Gracia and Elysia, plus Winry mentioned she was going there, so he'd probably see all 3 girls.

When Ed knocked on the door, Gracia Hughes answered and gave a soft smile when she saw him. "Hello Edward. Winry's here, come in…" she opened the door wider and allowed Ed to step inside.

"It's been a while, Gracia," he greeted, returning the hug light brown haired woman gave him. Now, compared to Edward, Gracia was tiny. Ed was 4 inches taller than her and had the broad shoulders of a grown man, which, technically, he was. "So, how've you and Elysia been?"

"We've been just fine, the more important question is how _you've_ been. You were sent to Drachma weren't you?"

His eyes hardened as a flood of memories he'd rather forget flowed into his head. He shook his head a little to snap out of it. "…Yeah, I was…" Gracia could see it was a hard subject for him to talk about and her green eyes softened; she couldn't imagine what he must have gone through in that terrible war. She decided to get his mind off of it and changed the subject.

"Elysia and Winry are in the living room if you wanted to see them," Ed looked up and smiled, his dulled golden eyes silently thanking her for not prying about what had happened in the past 2 years. He walked into the living room to see Elysia sitting on Winry's lap. Apparently the two were having an excited conversation about unicorns. Winry had always been great with kids. Gracia and Ed couldn't help but chuckle at how cute they looked.

When they heard chuckling, Winry and Elysia looked up. When Elysia saw Ed, she hopped off Winry's lap and ran to him as fast as her short legs would move.

"Big Brother!" she exclaimed reaching Ed and grabbing his pant leg. Ed laughed, picked her up, and set her on his right shoulder.

"Hey there Elysia. What're you and Winry doin'?"

"I told her about the unicorn that lives in my closet. Her name is Sparkle and she loves macaroni…" the energetic 6 year old continued to ramble on while Ed stole a glance at Winry. She was smiling at him lovingly and he smiled back at her.

Ed and Winry both stayed for an hour before they started back to their hotel. They were down the street from the hotel and Winry was wearing Ed's coat. They held hands and were smiling happily as they walked. That was when Ed remembered about their little "vacation".

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot…" Ed started, pulling the invitation from his pocket and handing it to Winry. "It's an invitation to a military ball for the war veterans. Even though it's an invitation, we're required to go and in full uniform," Ed moaned and Winry giggled. "Mustang suggested we just stay in Central since it's only next week. You know, have a little vacation…"

"Sounds like fun!" Winry said excitedly.

"We can always call Al or anyone else who'd wanna come too.

"Ooh, yeah. I'm sure Al and Granny will come and Gray has to come too, so everyone will be there!" she exclaimed. Ed chuckled at how childish she seemed. It was cute. Once they reached the hotel, Winry called Al to inform him about their plans.

Al's POV

Al got up to answer the phone, which had starting ringing a few seconds ago.

"Hello?" he said when he answered.

"Hey Al!" a cheery voice answered.

"Oh, hey Winry. Are you and Brother on your way home? "

"Well…there's been a change of plans…" Al groaned.

"What did Brother do this time?" Winry laughed.

"No, as far as I know Ed's been good, but apparently there's gonna be some kind of military ball for the war veterans goin on in Central this Saturday. We decided to stay here until then, you know, take a little vacation. I also wanted to invite Granny and you to come if you guys wanted to."

"So that's what Lt. Thomas's letter was about…Yeah that sounds like fun. Granny and I'll come on Saturday morning. I'd come earlier, but I think Granny'll need my help down here. She's been acting' kinda funny lately,"

"Is she sick…?" Winry asked mildly alarmed.

"I hope not…"

"I'll come home, then and look after her…"

"No stay in Central, Winry. I'm sure Granny's alright. Besides, you could use a vacation,"

"Are you sure Al?"

"Yes, yes! I'll see you on Friday, okay?"

"Alright, Al. See you soon, bye." They hung up.

"Well, looks like I'm goin to Central…" He ran to pack

….

"Hey, Granny!" Alphonse ran into the basement, where the old woman was currently working on an automail leg.

"Hm, Alphonse? What do ya need, son?" She stopped her work and turned to look at him, wiping the grease off her fingers with a dirty rag. Her bespectacled eyes leered at him with curiosity.

"Winry just called. There's some kind of military ball for the veteran's happening in Central. Ed and she were going to stay in Central until then and they invited us to come,"

She did want to go. After all, her unofficial grandson had spent 2 years in a freezing hellhole to help protect this country. She was proud of him and the fact that he stayed strong, even after Gods knows what happened to him.

"That sounds ni—" she was cut off when she started having a coughing fit. Al quickly ran over to her with a cry of 'Granny!' "—nice, Alphonse. We should go." She finished when her coughs ceased, her voice was now a little hoarse.

"Are you alright?" Alphonse exclaimed. "Maybe we should get you to a doctor…"

"Oh, hush up. I'm fine, just a little tickle in my throat."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, now get out of here, boy. I'm tryin' to work!" She waved a wrench menacingly and Al ran out of the room.

….

Winry hung up the phone and walked into the hotel's bedroom where she saw Ed sitting on the bed reading. There was something wrong with this picture.

"Ed? Why is there only one bed?" she walked to her bag and took off her jacket, placing it on the bag. Ed blushed slightly at the question.

"Y-yeah. The lady at the front desk made a mistake and gave us a room with a single bed. I tried to change the room but they're booked now…" He put down his book and sat up a little.

"…Oh…Well, that's fine. We'll just sleep in the same bed then…" She didn't know why the thought made her so uneasy, but she changed in the bathroom, came back to the bedroom and slid between the sheets next to her boyfriend nonetheless. He turned off the lights and they both lay down.

They lay awkwardly next to each other and Ed could tell she was uncomfortable. His previous girlfriend had been the same way. He smiled, though she couldn't see it in the dark. He moved his hand to intertwine with hers. She flinched at his touch and he let out a small chuckle. He sat up slightly and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight," he said and laid back down turning toward the edge of the bed.

And just like that, all her uneasiness was gone. She turned towards him, still laying down and squeezed his hand.

"Good night," and they fell asleep, both with a smile on their face.

A/N: This was more of a filler I guess ^^; and a sweet EdWin moment :3 As if you couldn't already tell, they're my favorite couple. BTW I colored a picture of Betheny if you wanna see it here: .com/gallery/29218255#/d3gt3nt her appearance has changed a little. Feel free to comment! I wanna know your opinion!


	12. Fun at the Bar

The next few days Ed and Winry spent together were mostly like a vacation. They could both sleep in for as long as they wanted (God knows they took advantage of that) and neither of them had to work either. So, the next few days consisted of sleeping until noon, walking around the city at least five times a day, stay up all night talking, and just plain relaxation.

On Thursday was when Winry realized she didn't have anything nice to wear to the ball. After all, she had just been expecting to stay in Central maybe a day or so and had only brought 2 pairs of casual clothes. Ed, luckily, had already brought his uniform in the first place, just in case, and therefore didn't have to go all the way home to get it or worse, have to order a new one from HQ, all the while having Mustang comment on how small the uniform was. That joke had gotten old and sorely inaccurate seeing as how Ed was the same height as Roy and would soon be even taller.

There was still the task of getting Winry something to wear, along with a change of clothes or two. As soon as they walked into the store, Winry's girly side broke free and she ended grabbing at least a hundred things to try on. All the while, Ed sat suffering from intense boredom outside of the dressing room, watching his girlfriend of two years walk in and out in a new outfit each time. Eventually, she had picked out a dress suitable for the ball and an extra outfit so she wouldn't end up wearing the same thing every day.

Afterwards, they ate dinner and then walked back to the hotel. It was late now, already 10:30 pm. Only a minute after walking through the door, the hotel phone started to ring. Ed picked it up.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hello, Edward. It's me." The caller said.

"Riza? Why're you callin' so late? Somethin' happen?" he asked slightly concerned.

"Well, actually, I'm at a bar right now with Roy, who managed to drink enough to make him act like a giggling 5 year old," He heard a faint drunken 'Rizaaa' in the background; the voice could only belong to Roy Mustang. "I hate to ask you of this, but could you make sure he gets home alright? I'd do it myself, but I just got a frantic call from one of my friends and I have to go make sure she's alright,"

"Yeah, sure. No problem." He answered.

"Really? Thank you, Edward. I'll be sure to pay you back later for this. Right now we're at that bar on Talon Avenue. You know, across from that fancy restaurant?"

"Yeah, I know that place," It was pretty close by, only a block away.

"Alright. Thank you again, Edward. I've got to go now, bye,"

"Bye," he replied, hanging up the phone. "Hey, Winry!" he called, "We gotta go pick up an idiot!"

…..

Ed and Winry made it to the bar within minutes. Despite the nice hotels and fancy restaurants that adorned the street, this place was pretty ritzy looking. They glided in, not having to sneak a guard or even a bouncer, meaning the owners didn't care if underage drinking went on here. The inside was pretty dark, the only source of light being the small individual lights that each hung over a pool table. Clouds of cigarette smoke wafted around the place making it even harder to see and breathe.

After a few minutes, they found Roy and couldn't help but laugh at how they'd found him. He had a drink in hand and was facing an empty wall next to a slot machine flirting as though he were talking to a woman. "You got a nice rack…" he hiccupped, much less charming than when he was sober.

"That's just sad…" Ed murmured through giggles as he made his way over to his superior and best friend. "Roy, come on. It's time to go home," Ed told him, sounding like a mother trying to pry her 6 year old away from the sandbox at the park so they could leave.

"Oh…Okay," Roy answered, standing up to face Ed, and being surprisingly obedient. With Roy in tow, Ed walked until he found a pay phone and then proceeded to call a cab for his intoxicated friend. As they waited, Ed and Winry attempted to talk to Roy, mostly just to entertain themselves with his drunken banter. After a while, the cab arrived outside the bar, and they let Roy try to walk to the cab himself, watching him from the door of the bar. Ed and Winry were just about to leave after the cab left when a man offered them both drinks. "Hey kids, want a drink? First one's on the house." The man looked surprisingly sober and Ed figured he must have been the owner. Just when he was about to decline, Winry interrupted him.

"Sure, why not?" she said grabbing the mug of beer the man had offered.

"Winry! We're underage!" Ed exclaimed as she eyed her drink wearily.

"Oh, now you're just bein' a hypocrite. You said it yourself that you had gotten that tattoo when you were drunk, right?" Ed was silent for a few moments before he answered.

"Touché…" He grabbed a mug. 'What the hell?' he thought, 'Why not have some fun?'

After only one mug, Winry was already stumbling around. "This is your first time drinking, isn't it?" Ed chuckled.

"Shaddup…" His girlfriend slurred. Ed had already had two and a half mugs himself and felt pleasantly warm, but not necessarily drunk.

"Why don't we go home?" he put his giggling girlfriend's arm around his neck and helped her walk out and back to the hotel. By the time they got back, the alcohol he had consumed hit him a bit harder and soon he was giggling as much as Winry. When they arrived, they both flopped onto the best seemingly exhausted when Winry suddenly pulled Ed into a sloppy drunken kiss. Of course, Ed didn't mind and he kissed back. She rolled over so that he was on top of her as the kiss got more heated…

A/N You can all guess what's gonna happen / Sorry guys, I'm only 13 years old. I'm not writing a lemon, implied is as far as I will go.


	13. Silence of the Ball

Edward awoke in the early morning to the sound of puking. He tried to get out of bed quicker than his sluggish and slightly hung over mind could keep up with. The end result was vertigo and him not-so-gracefully falling flat on his face. He lay there on the ground for a second or two trying to settle his spinning head before he got up and put on some pants. He then walked towards the sound of the retching.

When he got to the bathroom, Winry was slung over the toilet puking her guts out. Surprise, surprise… She was done throwing up and was desperately trying to keep anything that was inside her stomach _inside _her stomach.

"This suuucks…" she moaned.

"I can imagine, considering how drunk you were…" Ed replied, smirking and leaning against the doorway. Winry jumped, not realizing Ed had been there.

"Uh, you asshole…how dare you get me drunk…" Ed chuckled at her slow logic and clouded mind.

"Of course it's my fault… because_ I _was totally the one who said 'Come on, Ed let's stay…'" he poorly mimicked her voice. She got angry.

"Well, you know what? Fuck you…" she moaned.

"Ooh, potty mouth now, are we? Hm, it's so dark in here. Maybe I should open up the curtains, let a little sunlight in," He moved toward the bathroom's window.

"Oh please God no!" She already had a splitting headache; the bright light might kill her…

"Okay, okay…" he said putting his hands up in defense. She didn't look like she would puke again, so he put her arm around his shoulder and helped her stand up. He walked her to the kitchen table and sat her down in a chair. She immediately put her head down on the table while he walked to the coffee maker. He brewed some coffee for them, two sugars for her and black for himself. He set her mug down in front of her along with a few pain pills. She slowly sat up and took a small sip of her coffee.

"So what have you learned?" Ed pondered, amused. Winry muttered something inaudible. "What? I'm sorry I can't hear you. You're gonna have to speak up…" he put his hand to ear, as if it would help him hear. Winry was pissed off.

"I WILL NEVER DRINK AGAIN!" she shouted, but immediately regretted it when her head ache returned even stronger. Ed was thoroughly amused.

"No drinking for you until you learn your limits…"

"Oh come on, you were drunk too!"

"Only slightly. You were acting like Mustang, talking to walls and creepy random guys,"

"What made them creepy?"

"They were like walking STDs!" he huffed, "If you had hooked up with any of 'em, you'd probably have all kinds of diseases. Not to mention you're my girlfriend and I'm not gonna allow any creep to hit on you…"

"As long as you don't have any STDs I think I'll be fine…"

"I hope I don't either…" she playfully slapped his forearm.

"Ed, don't kid like that!" Ed, again, held up his hands in defense.

"Sorry, sorry…" he repeated, though he certainly didn't look it, what with him giggling the entire time.

Saturday night had arrived. Ed and Winry had just finished getting ready and were on their way to the ball. Al had called earlier and said he'd meet them there.

The building in which the ball was being held was huge. It sat right next to Central Command and, of course, was used for military functions such as this one. It was elegantly decorated on the inside and looked like a grand ballroom you'd see in picture films. It was a sea of blue uniforms and would be nearly impossible to find any of his old friends. Ed decided it would be best to find Al and the others first. The pianist next to the food and drinks started to play a new song and the identical bodies shifted into pairs to dance. When they moved, Ed spotted his brother.

"Hey Al!" he called out, "Over here!" he brought his left hand up in a half hearted wave when Al looked and saw them.

"Brother!" Alphonse made his way over to the pair along with Gray, Betheny, and Pinako in tow. When he reached them Al gave Ed and Winry each a friendly hug. "Fun place, huh?" Al said sarcastically. Sure, it was beautiful inside, and there were many people laughing and conversing, but it all seemed so _forced. _It seemed no other soldier wanted to be here any more than Ed did.

"Yeah, a real riot…" Ed answered equally as caustic. He tugged on his blue collar uncomfortably, "Geez, I just can't wait to get home and get this thing off…" The grouped conversed for a while longer until they broke up to go and find some other friends of theirs.

Ed was on his way to get a glass of wine when he saw Roy about 30 feet away from him. Roy turned at that moment and they locked eyes. Roy lifted his hand up and signaled for Ed to come over to him. When he arrived to where Roy was standing, Ed noticed he wasn't alone. Riza was with him as well as a man Ed hadn't yet met. He was tall, about 6 feet, with pale white skin, dark gelled back hair, and piercing pale blue eyes. He held a half empty glass of red wine and a smirk adorned his face. He looked sneaky, Ed thought, as though he were planning something… Ed hand almost instinctively went to his deep blue pocket where his .45 caliber military issued handgun was stored, but he stopped himself before the stranger could notice. They hadn't been required to bring their guns and most of the men didn't. After all, there was no telling how drunk they could get, or what they might do with a gun while intoxicated. Ed, however, had learned to hold his liquor, not that he ever drank that much anyway. He was suspicious about everybody and everything therefore brought it just in case.

If the stranger had noticed him about to reach for his gun he didn't show it. His amused smirk didn't falter when he said, "Hmm… I don't believe I've met you, son. Who are you?" His voice had a slight Northern accent. Roy answered for him.

"This is one of my subordinates, Maj. Elric. Major, this is Colonel Branch," Ed gave his "superior" a standard salute.

"Pleased to meet you, sir."

Branch saluted back and said with an amused sparkle in his eye, "Good work, Mustang. You've trained your dogs well." His voice took on a mocking tone, which only made Ed want to kill him even more, but he kept his cool and acted like a good little soldier until they were done conversing and he was dismissed. Branch…There was something off about him. Ed didn't trust him one bit.

The party went on for about fifteen more minutes before Fuhrer Grumman stood up on the podium and tapped the microphone to get everyone's attention. The pianist stopped playing and all eyes turned toward the leader of their country.

Grumman started out with a small welcome speech, a thanks to everyone who came. He then pulled out a long list and announced," Now, I request a moment of silence as I read the names of the deceased. The men took their military hats, closed their eyes, and faced the floor. The women did the same. Ed would wince every time an old comrade's name was read aloud, his mind leading him to memories he'd had with the person. It was pure quiet as the Fuhrer read from his list.

That is, until a gun shot rang out…

A/N haha cliffy :D You guys must hate me now ^^; Well, I've finally got a little idea for the future of this fic and plan to add some unexpected drama soon :O so look forward to that! Please review! Every letter of your reviews are treasured forever! :D


	14. Battle of the Night

Women and men alike screamed when the body hit the floor, though they didn't have time to compose themselves as more gun shots went off. Everybody was running around the room, hysterical, and looking for a place to hide.

Ed kicked over the long table that held the ball's food and people immediately ran to take cover behind it as well as Ed. His golden eyes scanned the room until he found the shooters. One of them just happened to be Colonel Branch, who seemed to be enjoying himself. 'Sick, traitorous bastard…' Ed thought. One thing that Ed noticed was that the shooters all seemed to look physically similar; dark hair, pale skin, pale eyes…

His eyes widened in recognition. Drachmans…of course… but why would they do this? The Drachman War had ended 8 months ago with a treaty of peace. Why would they sneak into Amestris and shoot up the Veteran's Ball? Also, how the heck did they even sneak into the country? It's impossible to get past Fort Briggs! Well, they certainly are sneaky…

Now that he knew his enemies, Ed immediately took action and grabbed his .45 from his uniform pocket. He left the safety of the table and pursued the party poopers.

Ahh…it felt like old times… Ed instantly went into soldier mode and only listened to instinct. A few other paranoid officers had brought guns as well, but most were trying not to get shot with stray bullets. Speaking of stray bullets, one had just managed to lodge itself in Ed's upper left arm. He merely clenched his teeth in pain and continued on. Once in his desired position, Ed held up his weapon, quickly aimed, and fired, hitting his target in the side of his head, killing him instantly. 'One down,' he thought, 'A bazillion more to go…' The shooting continued and more innocent attendees' and military officers' bodies piled up on the now bloody red marble floor. Just like old times…

Ed shot off his handgun more and more and one by one the shooters fell to the ground. Not wanting to use all of his bullets, Ed used a bit of alchemy to capture a few of them. They might be taken into questioning later.

The Drachmans soon saw that were quickly losing this battle and chose to retreat, but not without grabbing as many hostages as they could. Ed and other soldiers tried their best but the Drachmans managed to escape, and right out the front door! Ed sprinted outside to capture them and saw the foreigners loading their new prisoners into a large meat truck that had been sitting out there since Ed arrived at the party. 'Of course,' Ed thought, 'They used a large vehicle that wouldn't attract much attention.' When Ed had seen it the first time he had just figured it was the caterer's truck, not terrorists.

Ed cocked his gun and prepared to shoot when a Drachman held up a prisoner with a gun to her head. She was crying hysterically. His eyes widened in surprise.

Betheny. "Back up, Amestrian! Or else this little girl won't live to see tomorrow," Ed reluctantly lowered his gun and Betheny was thrown into the truck with all the other passengers. The whole exchange only took a few seconds and within the blink of an eye, the truck started up and sped down Main Street. 'Her eyes,' Ed thought, Betheny on his mind, 'were so full of terror…and I couldn't save her…' Ed felt ashamed of himself as he walked inside to check on everyone else.

The place was a mess, to say the least. The dead and wounded lay on the ground in bloody heaps while their family members surrounded them, crying. Tables were flipper over, the food was all over the floor, the curtains and nice tablecloths were ripped to shreds, the podium was tipped over, and the majority of people in the room were still panicking. Ed decided it was time to take charge. He walked onto the stage and stood the podium up. He tapped the built in microphone a few times to test it and proceeded to speak.

"Okay, okay, everybody calm down," slowly, the many faces in the room, frightened, tear-streaked, and panicked, turned to look up at him, "The situation has been contained. The threat is gone. Just calm down and help will arrive soon," without another word Edward stood down from the podium and walked off the stage to go help. He attempted to temporarily treat the wounded while they waited for the medics to arrive. His jacket was practically nonexistent now from ripping off so many strips of it to use as tourniquets for the wounded; he'd have to get a new one.

He found Roy, who was scratched up a little bit but otherwise alright, and Winry, who was also doing fine other than the mental trauma from what just happened.

When he found Gray, the man was worried sick, wondering where his daughter was during this crisis. Ed, reluctantly, told him she'd been taken with other hostages and that he didn't know their current whereabouts. Gray freaked out, to say the least. He launched into a whole loud speech about it was Ed's fault and he should have saved her; he even threw a few punches at Ed, who didn't even try to defend himself and instead just let his good friend get it out of his system. After a few punches, Gray came to his senses and stopped, vying instead to sit down with his head in his hands, fighting to hold back his tears. Ed sat down next to the man, silently offering a shoulder to cry on. Ed wasn't mad at Gray for hitting him and yelling at him; he would've done the same thing if it had been Winry or Al who were taken.

When the medics did finally arrive, they took the wounded to Central Hospital. Despite his protests, Ed was practically forced to go. With so many badly wounded citizens suddenly coming to the ER all at once, the waiting room was pretty backed up and Ed ended up having to wait 2 and a half hours before a doctor could stitch up his bullet wound. He was allowed to go back home that same night and couldn't wait to fall into bed.

It had certainly been a long night, and Ed was sure the next day would be even longer.

A/N: Haha sorry for the late update ^^; I was working on a writing entry for the "Central Olympics" on Faith Altoire's FMA forum. My entry was called Unreachable Paradise and I posted it here on Fanfiction and I'd really appreciate it if you read and reviewed it!


	15. What's to Come?

Betheny's POV (finally! XD)

Be sure to thank Peyton the Blood Alchemist for this idea! (:

To say that Betheny had been scared to death was the understatement of the year. She nearly peed her pants when one of the terrorists grabbed her arm and forced her over to the truck and even more so when he proceeded to hold her at gunpoint. Even Ed looked scared for her. She saw a glint of shame in his eyes when he realized he couldn't save her without possibly killing her.

After Ed backed down, the terrorist roughly threw her into the armored truck with the rest of the hostages. As she looked around, Beth noticed there were quite a lot of people, military personnel and civilian guests alike. Even children were taken!

The heavy truck began to grumble and abruptly starte to move forwar, which shook Beth a good bit, or at least enough to give her a headache. When her head stopped spinning she noticed a quiet sobbing.

Beth looked around to see a little girl who seemed to be all alone crying in the corner of the truck. Beth crawled over and sat next to her. The child was young, only 5 or 6, and had short dark brown hair. She wore a dress that looked like it was once white. Now it was covered in dust a dirt and was ripped in a few places. She sat with her knees up and her head buried in them. She voiced quiet sobs of fear and sadness.

"Hey," Beth offered. Though she felt like crying herself, she thought the least she could do was cheer up this young girl, who looked to be separated from her parents. When Beth spoke the child looked up at her with tears still flowing from her green eyes. "What's your name?" Betheny asked.

The girl sniffed and did her best to wipe the tears from her eyes, "S-Sara," she answered shakily. Beth gave her a comforting smile.

"My name's Betheny, but you can call me Beth," Sara didn't say anything else and continued to sniffle. When Beth looked at her again she noticed that Sara had a pretty nasty cut on her shoulder, which may or may not have made her cry more. "Ooh... that looks like it hurts," Beth stated, acknowledging the girl's injury, "Can I take a look at it?" The girl answered with a small nod and Beth gently grabbed her arm and moved her sleeve to get a better look. It was a deep looking cut and was bleeding quite a bit. She needed something to clean the wound. As she looked around the truck she saw only crates of meat taking up everyone's personal space. 'Well, I guess I can't clean it,' she thought. Beth was no doctor but she knew that there was a bigger chance of infection when a wound wasn't properly cleaned and covered. She'd have to do the best she could with their limited equipment. She ripped off a couple of strips from the bottom of her dress. She spat on a piece and rubbed the wound, trying to get excess blood and dirt off. It wasn't exactly sanitary but it was all she had to work with. Sara cried when her wound started to sting and Beth did her best to try and calm the girl down. When she was done 'cleaning' the cut, Beth used her other strip of fabric and wrapped it around Sara's arm tightly and then secured it with a bobby pin from her hair.

"T-thank you..." Sara said. Beth smiled.

"Your very welcome, Sweety," Beth answered and dared to rub the girl's hair playfully. Instead of jerking away, Sara seemed to warm up to Beth a little more and scooted closer to her and laid her head on Beth's shoulder.

"Where are we going?"Sara sniffled. That was one of the many questions Beth couldn't answer.

"Honestly? I don't know... I only went to this stupid ball cause my dad had to go. I never expected all of this to happen..." The girl nodded in agreement.

"Uh huh. My daddy was gonna stay home but his boss said no 'cause that's the rules..." she started to tear up again, "I miss my d-daddy..." Beth sighed in agreement. She stroked Sara's hair maternally.

"I do too, Honey, I do too...but, at least we're not alone. I have you and you have me, and we'll stay together until we can go home, okay?" Sara nodded and laid her head down in Beth's lap. Her eyes started to droop.

"Uh huh..." Beth looked down and saw she had drifted to sleep.

After a while, Beth gave in to the call of slumber, still curious as to what the next day would bring her.

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter and late update! ^^; But to tell you the truth, I'm startin' to run out of ideas for this story and it's not very much fun to write TTATT, BUT if you like this story and would like to see it continue then please send me some ideas for how to continue this! It would mean the world to me and I'd be sure to give you credit for it! C:


	16. Decisions and Reminiscing

A/N: Yay 2 updates in one day! :D I felt so guilty that I just had to post again...

BTW: Thank you everybody for pointing my typos; though I'm embarrassed by just how many typos I make, I really appreciate it! :) but sorry for my mistakes ^^;

And thanks for the advice buds! (:

Ed's POV

Ed woke up late the next day since his hospital visit caused him to get home late. Winry was still asleep and Ed decided to let her stay that way. She was probably exhausted from last night's events anyway. He changed into his daily clothes and stalked out the door and walked to Central Headquarters. After years of trudging into the same exact office Edward didn't need to ask for directions from the receptionist. Down the hall, take a right, keep going, then another right, stop at the 2nd door from the end of the hallway. The plaque on the door read 'Brigadier General Roy Mustang.' Ed opened the door without knocking, as usual. The dark haired man sitting at the desk held no surprise, nor amusement, on his face as the blond sat in the chair in front of his desk.

Ed was the first to speak, "So, how many...?" Roy already knew the rest of that sentence without his friend having to finish. He picked up the document on his desk that held the information and read it aloud.

"13 injured, 37 casualties, and 52 missing, all presumably taken hostage until proven otherwise," he read off the paper in a robotic monotone. Roy was met with silence when he was done reading and looked to see his friend blankly staring off to the side as though in deep thought. Ed snapped out of it when Roy spoke again.

"It's not your fault," Roy said, guessing what his friend was thinking, "You did all you could and even saved a few lives. Don't beat yourself up about it—"

"I want the mission," Ed interrupted..

"What-"

"I wanted to go to Drachma undercover," He interrupted again. Roy understood now.

"You're sure about this? Did'ja talk to your girlfriend?" Roy inquired. Edward simply sighed in response.

"No... I made the decision on my own this morning. Whether she likes it or not, I'm doing this, and I will bring every single one of those hostages back, including Falman and Fuery." A small smile broke out on Mustang's face.

"Thank you..." he answered, sincerity apparent in his voice. Ed gave a smile of his own.

"So, when do I go?" Ed asked. Roy thought for a second.

"Give me a week. I need to gather up information and create a false identity for you."

"And how do you plan on doing that? You can't just send me to a foreign country with a bunch of papers and not expect them to check their records. Once they see that identity doesn't exist I'll be executed!" Roy smirked at seeing Ed's old temper flare up after being dormant for so long. Why not have some fun with it?

"Oh you'll be fine!" Roy answered waving his hand as though shooing Edward away. "If push comes to shove you can always run out into the woods, build an igloo, and live as a little Eskimo..." As Roy had hoped, Ed's face turned red in anger.

"Holy crap you bastard!" he yelled loud enough to rattle the windows, "I am not living with a bunch of Pine trees in the freezing cold! And don't even get me started about that "little" shit. Soon enough, I'll be taller than you, you little bitch!" Though doing his best to hold it in, Roy couldn't stop his laughter from bubbling out of his throat. He bent down in his seat and slapped his desk, still laughing. Soon enough, Edward joined him.

A few minutes later, red faced and out of breath, they were able to control their laughter. 'I haven't laughed like that in a long time,' they both thought simultaneously.

"Heh heh...Just like the old days huh?" Roy reminisced. Hearing the 'flick' of a lighter abruptly brought Roy out of his memories. Seeing Ed light up his cigarette reminded him that this was not the past and they had both changed greatly. Roy went back to the subject at hand. He sighed in content one last time before regaining seriousness.

"All joking aside, I have a few other spies out in Drachma who have access to the records, so identity shouldn't be a problem," he finally answered.

"Well, alright." Ed replied as he got up, "Guess I gotta break the news to Winry now. I hope I live to see next week..." He joked. Roy chuckled in return as he stood up a walked over to the young alchemist.

"Yep," he said as he clapped his hand on the man's shoulder, "Our women are tougher (and far deadlier) than us," It was Ed's turn to smirk this time.

"So, you and Riza _do _have a thing going on..." In return, Roy blushed like a teenager.

"I-i never said it was Riza..." he sputtered. Ed chuckled.

"That right there was enough evidence to convince me, Bastard," Roy smirked when Edward used his old nickname.

"Oh shut up brat," he lightly conked his fist on the blond's forehead playfully. They both walked out of Roy's office and headed down the hallway. "I'm going to lunch for real this time. Wanna join me?" Roy asked. Ed checked his watch;12:50 is what it read. 'Wow,' Ed thought. 'I did wake up late...'

"I would but I should probably be getting back to the hotel. Winry was still asleep when I left and she's probably wondering where I am right now." he declined.

"Well, alright. Maybe another time." the hallway split, one way going to the Cafeteria, the other toward the large front doors. "See you soon, Shrimp." Roy departed down his stretch of hallway.

Ed smirked.

"Yep, later Bastard!"

A/N: Yay! Almost 2,000 words today! :D This chapter goes from serious to funny to semi-serious to casual friendliness... (: I've got some ideas I'm gonna use in later chapters, all I need to think of now is how exactly is Ed gonna escape Drachma with the hostages? Got any ideas?


	17. Let's Talk

A/N: Thank Naruto-Hinata Love for convincing me to continue this and even giving me some ideas on how to continue :) Also check out her new Fullmetal Alchemist story "Father's Story" It's amazing! I was listening to "Vox Populi" by 30 Seconds to Mars on repeat while writing this. ^_^ God I love that band...

Ed walked out of Central and headed back to Winry and his' hotel room. He unlocked room 119 and walked inside, dropping his keys and brown coat in a random spot on the floor.

"There you are!" Ed looked up to see his blonde girlfriend sitting at the table eating eggs. She hadn't changed out of her pajamas yet, so she still wore her way-too-big white T-shirt and way-too-short black shorts; Her hair hadn't been brushed so it was still left down and sticking up slightly from laying down. Strangely he preferred her this way. "Where did you run off to?"she said after swallowing a large mouthful of her breakfast. He smiled.

"That's attractive," he chuckled as he sat down at the table in front of her. She swatted his head in playful anger and got up to rinse off her now empty plate.

"So where have you been?" she asked again from the sink. Ed got up and sat back down in his chair backwards, chin resting where your back would usually be.

"I stopped by Headquarters to talk to Mustang," he answered, not even trying to hide the fact that he was staring at her ass as she washed her dish. She pretended not to notice. She left her semi clean dish in the sink and walked over to him.

"Was it about what happened last night?" she asked, remembering how terribly last night had ended. Tears came to her eyes when she remembered that Beth had been taken prisoner along with many other innocent people. God knows what the Drachmans must be doing to them...

Ed saw the tears in her eyes and felt even more ashamed. He knew she was thinking about Beth. He'd almost saved her..._almost. _Hearing her question reminded him of what he needed to tell her. He groaned inwardly, mentally preparing himself for yelling, screaming, or dents in his skull from the wrench she carried with her everywhere, or even worse, _all three_. "Yeah...That reminds me, I need to talk to you about something..." He stood from his chair. Winry knew she wouldn't be happy about this. That serious look on his face told her everything.

"What is it?" she asked mentally preparing herself for the worst. He took a deep breath and dove in.

"I have a new mission and, I'm going into Drachma undercover. I'm going to get those hostages back and find out what those God damn terrorists' want with us..." He closed his eyes, anticipating immense pain in his head along with her yelling as the cherry on top. When the pain and yelling did not come, he opened his eyes to see a stream of tears running down Winry's cheeks. "Winry I'm so- ," he was cut off when her hands wrapped around his neck and she pulled him into a hug. He heard her sobs and wrapped his around her waist, returning the gesture. He rubbed her back and comforted her, "Don't worry. I'll come back, with everyone with me." she jerked away rubbing at her eyes.

"Gosh...so stupid... Why are you comforting _me_ when _you're_ the one going on that dangerous mission?_ I _should be helping _you_, not the other way around..." she hiccuped. Ed chuckled, surprisingly,and wiped a stray tear from her cheek. She looked up at him.

"You idiot... you always help me, whether you realize it or not. I never would've gotten this far if it wasn't for you, so comforting you when you're sad, regardless of what it's about, is the very least I can do. Have a little faith in me, Winry. I've gone through far worse. I promise I'll be back before you know it, and Beth will be with me, so please, don't cry..." She smiled and wiped at her tear streaked face. She stood on her tip toes and gave Ed a peck on the cheek.

"You better come home, or else I'll put another dent in your skull..." Ed laughed.

"So, I guess this means you aren't mad at me for not consulting you earlier?" His response was a long piece of metal, seemingly thrown out of nowhere, meeting with the center of his forehead.

"Of course I'm mad you asshole!" she yelled. "You never give me notice on anything. Not on automail repairs, missions, trips..." She sighed and reached out a hand to Ed, who was sprawled out on the floor holding his head in pain. "Get up, Alchemy Geek." Ed looked up at her and accepted her hand, standing up and dusting off his clothes.

"Shut up, Automail Freak." he replied. They continued bickering playfully for a few minutes before deciding to pack up. Ed wanted to head back home and see everyone before he left. Once they finished packing, the pair headed off to the train station. The ride to Resembool was 4 and a half hours long and by the time they got off, Winry was aching.

"God, how did you ride that thing for four years?" she exclaimed, rubbing her aching backside.

"Got used to it..." he replied. Deja Vu... They walked to the Rockbell household talking to each other and anyone they knew. Resembool was a small friendly town where all the citizens knew each other. Needless to say, it took a while for them to get home. When they got there they were happily greeted by Alphonse and Pinako, who was just fixing dinner.

"Where's Gray?" Ed asked when he didn't see the man around. Pinako spoke.

"I'm not too sure... he went on a walk after breakfast and hasn't come back," Even the old woman sounded worried.

"Hmm...I'll go look for him," Ed said shrugging his coat back on.

"Come back soon, Shrimp. Dinner will be ready pretty soon." Pinako called.

"Yeah yeah you old hag..." he answered as he went out the door.

Ed had been walking for a while and still hadn't found him. Resembool was one of the smallest cities in Amestris, where the hell could he hide? Then, Ed got an idea.

He turned around and started walking in the opposite direction. When he got to his destination, Ed saw that he was right; Gray was here. They were in the small forest behind the Rockbell home. Gray was sitting at a small river and looked to be in deep thought.

"Hey," Ed greeted. Gray looked up, startled from his thoughts.

"Ed? When did you get back?" He asked as the Ed sat down next to him.

"A few minutes ago actually. The hag told me you'd been gone all day. Granny and Al were worried about you," he answered.

"I just...needed some time to think..." Ed knew the poor man was thinking about his daughter in a dank Drachman prison. Ed had heard many stories about them. Let's just say the pretty females are very unlucky in there. He had to save Beth from that place. "God, what do I do? What do I do?" Gray had slipped back into his thoughts and kept repeating that phrase. Ed shook the man's shoulders and got his attention.

"Don't worry about her, Gray. She'll be just fine. I'll make sure of it." Ed stated firmly.

"Oh really?" Gray replied skeptically, "And just how do you plan to do that? She's probably all the way in Drachma by now. There's no hope," he said sadly.

"Yes there is!" Ed yelled, "I'm going into Drachma within a week and am ordered to rescue the prisoners and figure out a few other things," Ed left out a few parts because this mission was undercover and confidential. He shouldn't be telling anyone about it but he thought Gray had a right to know.

"You are?" Ed smiled.

"Yes, and I promise I'll bring your daughter back if it's the last thing I do,"

"But I could always go instead." Gray suggested, "She's my daughter and you shouldn't have to do my dirty work." Ed declined.

"No. This mission is dangerous. The only reason I was picked is because Mustang believed I was the one who had the highest chance of surviving," Ed said, "I've been in quite a few life threatening situations so it's nothing new. Just please let me do this. It's the least I could do," Grayson saw guilt laced in his friend's eyes. He smiled sadly, got up, and ruffled his friend's hair.

"You don't have to ask my permission. Besides, if anyone could save her, I'm glad it's you," Gray said as Ed swatted his hand from his hair. They starting walking back to Pinako's house.

After a few minutes of silence Grayson spoke again.

"Thank you..."

A/N: I don't know why but I love this chapter /3/ I hope you do too! (:


	18. Arriving

A week later Ed packed his few belongings, left Granny, Al, and Winry in Resembool, and left for Central.

When he arrived, Ed walked straight to Headquarters to visit Mustang. When Ed arrived in his office Mustang appeared to be talking to a superior officer. When said officer was done speaking Ed saluted Mustang.

"Sorry to interrupt Brigadier General! Major Elric, reporting for a scheduled meeting, sir!" he announced.

"At ease, Major." he saluted back and they both put their hands down. "That's alright, General Kahl and I were just finishing our conversation," General Kahl spoke then.

"I'll be seeing you Brigadier General," Roy saluted.

"Alright sir!" The man walked away without another word. As soon as General Kahl was gone, Roy closed the door and sat back in his comfy chair. "Geez, I hate "respecting" superiors..." Ed laughed.

"You and me both, Roy. So, have you got my papers?" Roy answered.

"Yes I do," he handed Edward a folder. Ed looked through it's contents, it contained basic papers (birth certificate, basic information, and a small biography), a Drachman military I.D. Badge which had the person's name, military I.D. Number, and rank, which was a Lieutenant, and finally, a picture of the man. His new temporary identity was Lukas Tamm, a natural born stereotypical Drachman who joined the military at age 18; His current said age was 25. Looking at the picture Ed saw a stereotypical Drachman man; He had short brown hair, bangs parted on the left, pale skin, cold blue eyes, and a 5 'o clock shadow.

"He was one of the men who raided the ball last week. He's currently rotting in Central prison. I figured it'd be easier for you to use an actual person's identity rather than making one up."

"In other words, you were too lazy to make one up?"

"Yeah, that sounds about right..." Roy chuckled.

"Alright then, looks I gotta go get a haircut..." Ed sighed, dreading the thought of cutting his hair.

"Heh, that'll be interesting..." Roy laughed.

"Shut up bastard..." After a few more minutes spent talking to his friend, Ed left Roy's office and stopped at Central barbers, and, much to his displeasure, got his cut like the man in the picture. Afterward he alchemically created dark hair dye and changed his hair color. After carefully drawing his transmutation circle, he also changed his eye color to blue, thankfully without any complications; one wrong move and he could have gone blind.

He reported back to Roy to receive the enemy uniform. Roy was very amused by Ed's "makeover" and made sure the man knew it. After bickering for a while Ed left and was on his way to Briggs. 

While Ed sat in the train, he read over Lukas's file again and again and memorized all necessary information that may come up in the future. 8 hours later he departed his train and started his walk to Briggs mountain, which took another 4 hours. When he reached Briggs, Ed was greeted friendly, at least as friendly as the barrel of a gun against his forehead. After a bit of explaining, General Armstrong let him through. It was 3 'o clock am when Edward began trudging through the snow past the Amestrian/Drachman borders. It would be more believable if Ed showed up in Drachma at an odd hour; It would make his story of being able to get past Briggs much more believable.

An hour later he was greeted with more guns as he found himself surrounded by Drachman soldiers.

"Freeze, Amestrian!" one yelled; He had a heavy Drachman accent. Ed's acting skills instantly kicked in.

"Vat are you talking about you idiot?" Ed exclaimed, hoping they were fooled by his fake accent. "I'm no Amestrian scum! I just escape their greedy clutches and I'm already being treated poorly again?" The soldiers said no more and led him to their base, guns still pointed at him.

He was taken to a man's office, the soldiers superior most likely. A heavyset man, at least 40 years old sat at the office's dark wooden desk. His ratty, dark beard covered most of his face and his blue eyes sharped coldly when they entered.

"Sorry for intruding Colonel Feschar!" One officer apologized, "We've found a trespasser who claims to have escaped Amestrian clutches!" The man eyed him disbelievingly.

"Da, leave him here. We can have chat...(intentional typo! That's just the way the guy speaks)" Colonel Feschar ordered. When his men were gone he spoke again.

"Vat is your name lad?" He asked.

" Lukas Tamm sir" Edward answered. Feschar leaned back in his chair and clasped his fingers together.

"Now, my men say you escape Amestrians?

"Yes sir I did. I vas captured when our men ambushed their little party. Amestrians are very careless and that made it fairly easy to escape."

"Vell how did you get past Briggs? None of our officers have ever succeeded getting across the border alone..."

"I traveled at night. Their terrible guards were asleep at der posts." Ed looked down and shook his head. "Such foolish idiots they are! So arrogant and thinking they run the world and a man like myself was actually able to pass through 'der 'Vall of Briggs.'" He laughed hard and slapped his knee for effect. "It's hilarious!" The look in the man's eyes changed as though he may have started to believe Ed.

"Yes, yes... Hmm...ver is your I.D., Tamm?" He asked. Ed pulled the I.D. card from his pocket. He left all of his other belongings back at Briggs. It would look suspicious if he came too prepared.

"Vite 'ere. Those idiots didn't even bother checking me for weapons or I.D." Feschar looked it over and handed the identification card back to Edward.

"Very vell. You seem like honest lad. I will believe your story for now. You'd better hope I don't find a reason not to," His cold gaze sent chills down Ed's spine. "For now, you vill vork for me. My officers vill show you to where you'll be staying. Sars! Casch! Show your new peer to his room."

Two officers walked in. One was an older man, tall with droopy eyelids. The other was at least ten years younger and shorter; he had a very boyish and young look about him. They seem so familiar...that's when it dawned on him.

'_Falman and Fuery!' _his head screamed.

A/N : haha cliffy! ;D Please review guys! No one wants to review anymore... ;(


	19. The Experiment

"Jess sir, vight away," Falman answered the man with his own fake accent. Fuery and Falman both had barely glance at Ed and nothing more as they walked down the dark hallways in the Drachman Headquarters. They reached a certain room and Fuery opened the door for Edward.

Ed looked at the bland interior of the small room. There were 6 small bunks, 3 on either wall and all attached to the wall. Other than that there was just a small amount of unused space in the middle of the room. "Velcome sir. I hope you approve of ze living arrangements ve have provided," Fuery greeted as he closed the door, first looking around outside the room to make sure there were no soldiers around that may overhear them talk. When he was sure no one was around Fuery closed the door.

As soon as the door clicked Falman exclaimed "Ed! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Phew!" Ed breathed, "At first I thought you guys didn't recognize me! As for why I'm here: Basically, Mustang got his paranoid panties in a twist and figured you both were captured,"

"Well, I can understand why he'd think that," Fuery chimed in, "Some of the higher ups were getting suspicious and we didn't want to risk them reading our letters..." Ed nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that's understandable... He was still worried though..." Ed answered.

"I'm just surprised he sent _you_, considering you have to go to all the extra trouble to keep up your appearance. The only reason Kain and I were sent is because we were part Drachman," Falman replied.

"You're Drachman? Huh guess ya learn somethin' new every day... Mustang sent me because he thought I might actually survive, plus I guess you could say I'm on a little bit of personal business. You guys got a bunch 'a new prisoners that I have to bring home." Falman chuckled, Ed was always trying to save everyone, so much that he forgot to take care of himself sometimes.

"Well I certainly hope we can take 'em home," Falman smiled.

"So, what do we do now?" Ed asked.

"Well, most of the soldiers are asleep right now. Falman and I had night guard duty and our shift is just about to end. Why don't you come with us? Feschar shouldn't mind us giving you a tour," Fuery suggested.

"Well, alright," Ed answered standing up from the low bunk he had been sitting on, "Lead the way then...?"

"Oh! I'm Corporal Alex Sars and Falman is Private Eric Casch," Fuery answered, telling Ed their alias's. Ed smirked.

"Please to meet you Corporal, Private; I'm Lieutenant Lukas Tamm."

"Alright then, follow us sir..." they left the room. 'Sars' and 'Casch' led Ed through the many long hallways in the headquarters, including Colonel Feschar's office, the mess hall, the washrooms and other various locations.

"Corporal Sars, do you happen to have a map of de Headquarters?" Ed asked.

"Vell no, ve don't sir. I could always vite one out for you if you like. I've memorized these hallways and could find my vay around vith a blindfold on,"

Fuery answered.

"Very vell then. Hop to it vonce dis tour is over,"

"Yes sir,"

"So, Private," Falman looked to Ed expectantly, "Vat has our great country been vorking on for little Amestris? I hit my noggin' pretty hard and have a bit of amnesia..." Falman smirked at the lie.

"Vell sir, the higher up have been conversing quite a bit about Amestris and plan to use der new weapon against it. It's proven to be very effective. All dey need now is a pilot..."

"Pilot?" Ed questioned. The stopped walking and were now standing in front of two large metal doors with 2 guards at the doors.

"'Ey! Who is dis?" one guard asked. Glancing at his I.D. Edward noticed the man was a Seargant.

"Lieutenant Tamm," Ed answered taking a step toward the man who paled when he heard Ed's rank. "These two were kindly giving me a tour, so if you don't mind we'll be going in now..." The two guards reluctantly moved out of the way and the trio entered the large room. Edward's eyes widened at their 'experiment'.

"The first machine to fly!" Falman presented. The machine itself was light gray (to blend in with the sky) with a small opening where the driver- pilot controlled the had 2 large planks on either side and another supported on top. "The Wright Flyer!" Ed had seen one of these before. Amestris had been trying to create something similar but had given up long ago. "Owen and William Wright were 2 Drachmans who first started this idea in 1903. Now, 15 years later, it's finally finished. You must lay on your stomach inside and move your hips to steer. To start the engine, at your right, you movie a horizontal lever with your right hand to the center position. The cock opens connecting the fuel line to the engine. When that happens, assistants will pull the propellers through in unison. The two propellers, at the rear of the wings, rotate in opposite directions to cancel torque, which tends to pull an airplane in the opposite direction of its propeller's rotation. In turn, it flies," Ed's mouth hung open at all the information being presented to him.

"Wow, Casch. They told you all of that?" Ed asked incredulously.

"No, I merely gathered that from my observations. I have to say, this interests me very much!" Ed simply stared wide-eyed at Falman.

"Damn, there are some amazing people in this world..."

A/N: Sorry for the crappy ending ^^; it's almost midnight and I have to get up at 7 am... Hope the plane stuff made sense! I changed the Wrights names for no real reason and had to do a bit of research for that info... Also, I have a goal! I'd like to have at least 70 reviews by the end of this story... so please review and there might be a reward for the 70th reviewer... S:) so look forward to that!


	20. Familiar

"So how do they plan to use dis 'ding?" Ed asked, walking around the machine, inspecting it.

"From vat I've heard they plan to fill de Flyer with bombs and such and then surprise bomb Amestris. Vight now the higher ups are vorking der asses off to be picked as the pilot; all dey really vant is a promotion..." Fuery informed him.

"Interesting..." Ed muttered at the new information. Falman looked down at his watch.

"Oi! Sars, our shift is over. We should bring the Lieutenant back to our room," Falman called to Fuery, who nodded.

"Right. Let's go, sir," The trio then walked out of the large room and walked back to their dorm.

"So ve're sharing that room together?" Ed asked as they walked along.

"Yes," Falman replied, "There vas only one room left and nobody new has arrived at this Headquarters since Sars and myself were sent here."

"Well I'm not complaining..." Ed said. They turned into the correct hallway and were almost to their room when a soldier, a First Sergeant, Ed noted, walked over to them.

"You are Lieutenant Tamm?" He asked Ed.

"Da, vat do you need First Sergeant?" he replied.

"Colonel Feschar requested your presence, sir,"

"Alvight then, take me to him," Ed told the soldier, then to Fuery and Falman, "Casch, Sars, get some rest, I'm sure your both tired from de night shift," They both saluted him.

"Vight, thank you sir!" they replied simultaneously. Ed followed the First Sergeant back to his "superior's" office. Said man was still sitting in his chair doing absolutely nothing, just as how Ed had last seen him.

"Ah, Lieutenant Tamm!" Colonel Feschar exclaimed, "Come, sit sit! Let's have a chat," The man smiled but Ed could easily see through the fake niceties and it put him on edge. So, Feschar still doesn't trust him, does he? Ed nodded and sat down in the chair in front of Feschar's desk. "Thank you First Sergeant, that's all I need at de moment," Feschar assured the soldier who replied in turn with a 'Sir!', saluted, and walked out of the room, shutting the door. Feschar leaned back comfortably in his chair and spoke to Edward. "So, how do you like your living avangements? Does it suit you?" he asked.

"Yes sir, de're perfectly fine," Edward replied simply.

"Good, good..." Feschar replied as he picked up a glass of liquid sitting on his desk and brought the rim up to his lips; the liquid itself was blood red, wine, Ed guessed. The man swallowed and set the glass back on his desk and sighed in content, "Vell de main reason I summoned you here is because I forgot to give you vork. After all, ve're providing you food and living avangements, you need to vork for it, vight?"

"Of course, sir."

"Good. Now I'm trying to decide just what to have you do..." he left off.

"Sir, if I may make a suggestion...?" Feschar nodded and leaned even further back in his chair, clearly curious. Ed continued, "I'd like to guard de prisoners. Ve have Amestrians der, no? They locked me up in der country, I feel it's only fair if I do de same for dem...Besides if dey get to be a problem, I'm a good disciplinarian..." Ed smirked as he spoke his last sentence, Colonel Feschar returned the expression.

"Vell, a new guard vud be nice...and you're obviously enthusiastic about it...very well den, you got de job,"

"Thank you sir. I'll make sure dey behave..." Feschar chuckled.

"Night shift just ended. Put on a new uniform and get to vork," he ordered.

Within 10 minutes, Ed had put on a new uniform and was just reaching the 'basement' where the prisoners were kept. The atmosphere was dark, dank, and depressing, definitely not the ideal place to live. He relieved the present officer of his duties and proceeded to walk around and looking in the cells. All the prisoners looked to be from the party. They were still wearing their formal outfits which were all now dirty and filled with holes. The people themselves looked even worse. They were all dirty and some were hurt, it seems there must have been a 'Drachman Interrogation' as Amestrians called it, which was basically just mindless torture. Some looked to be on the brink of death while others were just wide eyed and scared. One thing they all had in common was how skinny they seemed to be. They'd only been here a week, did the Drachmans even feed them?

It wasn't only Amestrian military officers who were held captive either; women and children were also there. They were in one cell, separated from the men. One woman was huddled to a corner with many different children around her; by her facial expression and hand movements she looked to be telling them a story. Well, at least someone was trying to keep their spirits up. After looking around for a few more minutes, he still didn't see Betheny and just sat down in the guard's chair and twirled around the keys on his fingers. He sat there for hours, not knowing when his shift ended, until an officer came down with a plate of food, breakfast. Edward thanked the officer. He was about to dig in when he noticed the same children from before were now staring at his plate with lust in their eyes. Looking around to make sure no one was around, Ed bent over and slid his breakfast (which was eggs, bacon, and toast) and orange juice under the bars. The hungry kids looked ecstatic and ran over to the plate, fighting over to the dish. The woman who had been telling them stories walked over to them and took the plate, dividing it into equal amounts for each kid. Though it wasn't much when divided between 6 kids, they looked happy nonetheless.  
After giving the children their equal portions the woman walked to the cell bars where the guard was sitting. He looked to be just like every other stereotypical Drachman she had seem he also seemed different.

"Why did you do that?" she asked him boldly. Usually the guards would yell at them or hit them if they dared to speak to them, but this guy seemed different, after all, he had just given them food, the first and only thing they'd had to eat since arriving at this god awful place. If it hadn't been for the kids she would've gone insane. She would tell them stories to keep their spirits up and their reactions and childish cheerfulness made her happy.

The guard turned around towards her, about to speak when he stopped for a second and just stared at her for a few seconds in wide eyed surprise. She felt uncomfortable with his gaze on her and snapped at him. "Hey, what're you starin' at! Answer my question!" After a few more seconds he seemed to find his voice.

"Betheny?" he asked.

A/N: :D Don't you all just hate me? Thank you for the reviews guys! We're well on our way to 70 reviews! The 70th reviewer's prize will be a one shot of their choice or fan art of their choice. Just go to Deviantart and search 'Claire409 ' to see my other art ;)


	21. Planning

Sorry for the crappy chapter endings guys. I only write about 1,000 words a time and then post so wherever it ends is wherever it ends...After the story's complete ima blend some chapters together so it'll present better so don't worry :3 

"H-how did you know my name...?" Betheny asked the guard wide eyed. The Drachmans simply called her 'girl' or 'Amestrian' or 'whore', so how did he even know her name?

The guard looked around cautiously as if checking to see if anyone was around. He was the only guard down here; It was just him and the prisoners. He seemed to realize this too and he turned to face her with a smirk on his face, which instantly put her on edge. She had heard, even _seen _the terrible things those smiles led to. She had had to watch two women be violated and then killed, right in this cell. She silently prayed her fate would not be the same.

"Come on Beth. You don't recognize me?" he asked playfully, his smirk growing wider. That pissed her off.

"No I don't! All you scum look the same!" she yelled. She lost her self control for a split second and slapped him right across the face. Well, the deed was done now. There was no use in showing him fear. Surely she was dead meat now, she could at least go out with her pride intact. His head whipped back from the power behind her assault and certainly looked surprised. What wasn't expected was when he started laughing. Her face turned red in anger. "Hey! What are you laughing at, you prick?"

He wiped a few stray tears from his eyes as his chuckles ceased. He brought his head back up to look at her again, this time with a genuine smile on his face as he spoke. "Oddly enough, that put me in a good mood..."

"What are you, a masochist?" Beth asked, bewildered by his behavior. He shook his head with that smile still plastered to his face as he bent down. She wondered what he was doing until she saw and her mouth fell open in shock as he revealed his automail arm and leg, the right arm and left leg to be exact.

"Ed?" he smiled and nodded in response and then brought a finger to his lips, signaling to her to keep her voice down. She nodded herself and complied. Spoke again, this time in a slight whisper. "But how? Your eyes and and..." There was an internal war going on inside her and her mind was racing 100 miles a minute. Why was he here? How did he get here? Did this mean she, as well as the rest of the prisoners, were saved?

"Alchemy can do a lot..." he answered, "How do I look?" he smirked.

"Well, the disguise is pretty good...but you cut your hair...? I liked your hair..." he chuckled.

"Yeah, I did too..." the air of the room quickly changed as they were both reminded of the dire situation they were in. He spoke again, this time in a lower voice and barely audible. "I came to save you guys..."

"Well, how do you plan to do that?" she asked, her voice just as low.

"I've got my ways..." he answered, "Just give me a little time..." Beth looked back at the skinny, hungry children worriedly.

"I don't know how long we can wait," she said. Ed followed her gaze and silently agreed.

"Don't worry, I'll pull through. I always do," he smiled and she smiled back. Maybe there was hope. Maybe they would escape this hell alive.

The cellar door opened and Beth quickly crawled back to her corner, beckoning the children with her. A short, boyish Drachman officer shuffled in.

"Lieutenant Tamm!" he stated, "Your shift is over, sir." Ed smiled and stood from his chair.

"Alvight Sars..." he said, "Lead the way," Sars nodded, turned, and started walking towards the doors. Ed followed, though before he reached the doors he turned his head toward her and winked.

The doors slammed shut loudly. A woman in Beth's cell spoke up. Tina was her name.

"You know him?" she asked curiously.

"Yes," Beth answered, "He's a friend of mine, and he's here to bring us home..."

"Well," Tina said fondly, "I certainly hope he accomplishes his task," she smiled sadly, though there was a small gleam of hope in her eye.

"I do too, Tina. I do too..." 

Fuery led Ed out of the cellar, and they walked in silence until they reached their room. "You seem pretty happy..." Fuery pointed out as he sat on his bunk.

"Yeah, I found a friend of mine in the cells...Now I gotta work even faster to get them out,"

"I'm sure you can do it..." Fuery assured, "You've done impossible things before...Oh!" he remembered, "I found a map of HQ for ya," he said handing Edward the map.

"Ah thanks man... You're a lifesaver. This makes things so much easier now..." Ed thanked.

"So, what exactly are you planning?" he asked.

"You know... I could actually use you guys' help..." he started. They kept talking about their plans for escape until Falman walked. The trio then collaborated until they were called out for other jobs, but they now had a solid plan of escape.

"Wahh!" The young woman sighed when her son started crying in the other room. She stopped her packing and stood up. She passed her window on her way to his room. It was snowing heavily, as it always did in North City, and she pulled her light blue sweater closer to herself in a feeble attempt to stay warm.

He was still crying when she reached his small, plain white room. Their whole house was like that, plain and white. Some of the wood molding on the walls was rotting and the electricity got knocked out a lot. In short, they were kinda poor. Though she would never openly admit it. After all, she chose this life, she should be able to support herself as well as her son. So what she was gonna do was going to be a big blow to her pride, but, desperate times call for desperate measures and she couldn't afford to be selfish anymore. She reached her son's rickety crib and picked him up. Now that she held him, his tears slowed and he was no longer sobbing. "Don't worry..." she cooed, rubbing his light brown hair maternally, "We're gonna go see daddy soon and everything's gonna be alright...It'll be alright..." the last part she said more to herself than to him.

A/N: I've been wanting to write this for awhile :3 Whatcha think?


	22. Part 1

Whoo! It's been awhile hasn't it? Sorry, I've been busy drawing... BTW: does anyone know how to make that gray line thing? I've been wondering...

Anyway thanks for the reviews guys! We're getting close to our goal... ;)

Everything was perfect and the plan was about to be set into action. Falman's shift had him guarding the Wright Flyer, Ed was guarding the prisoners, and Fuery was free to wander. It had been a week since Ed found Betheny in the cells and since then he'd been giving all the prisoners whatever came to him during his shift. After all, he could easily stand being a little hungry especially since the prisoners were starving to death. Sadly, the 2 youngest children had already passed away from hunger and the clock was ticking. It was now or never.

Kain Fuery was walking through the Drachman HQ's hallways seemingly wandering around aimlessly. Looking at his map he saw that he had reached the right area, the part of HQ farthest away from the prison cells which just happened to be the Colonel's office. Two guards stood in front of the door to the man's office. Fuery took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to do. In the past he had always been the wimpy little guy who let his friends do all the fighting, but ever since going through two wars he had become a lot more confident and offensive. Now, he was putting his new skills to work.

He walked up to the two men guarding their superior and saluted. "Sir!" he barked. They saluted back and he dropped his hand. They walked a few feet away from the door to meet him.

"Vat is it?" the tall, skinny guard demanded.

"Your presence has been requested, both of you," Fuery answered, handing them a note. The skinny guard snatched the paper from his hand and they both started reading what it said. While their defenses were let down Fuery took his chance and slipped behind them. He grabbed his gun from the holster at his side and rather shooting them, he knocked them both in the back of the head pretty hard effectively knocking them unconscious without a sound.

Fuery turned and threw open the door to Colonel Feschar's office. The door opening roughly woke the previously sleeping man. He saw Fuery in the doorway and quickly noted the unconscious men behind him and put two and two together. He opened his mouth to yell for help but Fuery was already at his desk. Fuery put his hands on either side of the man's head and quickly snapped his neck all within a few seconds. He removed his hands and the lifeless man slumped on his desk. Well, that was done. Now for the final part of his job.

He quickly ran out of Feschar's office and continued down the long hallway until he was about 50 yards away from the office and then turned around to face the room once again. Right next to the door was an alarm. If Fuery could hit it with a single shot he estimated he had about 10 seconds to get as far away from there as possible to execute the next part of the plan. He looked at his watch and saw that it was almost time.

He slowed his breathing and concentrated, aiming his shot very carefully. With his next breath he pulled the trigger. It hit right on target breaking the protective glass and pressing the button behind it. He turned and ran with all his might. As predicted, soldiers from every area of the command came running in his direction. When he first arrived at the Drachman HQ he and Falman had been told that whenever that alarm was pulled them and every other soldier there were to report to the alarm's site for further instruction. It was only supposed to be used in times of emergency, so when it sounded everyone stopped what they were doing and hurried on over. Fuery stopped when he saw them and pointed to where they were supposed to go. After all, it would look mighty suspicious if he was running away wouldn't it?

When those few soldiers were out of site he started running again, stopping every minute or so to point the soldiers towards their destination. His part was done, now it was Ed's turn.

"Okay," Ed declared. All the prisoners turned to look at him. "Today, you will all be set free," A few of them started to yell in joy but Ed quickly shushed them. Others glared at him suspiciously and Beth looked hopeful. "Now listen up and follow my orders and you will all get back home. You just have to trust me," They moved closer to their bars. Ed continued, "An alarm will sound any minute. When it does, I am to wait 30 seconds. When the time is up, I will create a hole in that wall," he pointed to the brick wall behind the women and children's cell, "which will lead right outside." He held up a piece of paper with writing on it. "This is a map I have drawn out for you all. It is very precise and should lead you to a cave about a mile away from here. When you reach the cave, get inside and as far back as possible and wait for me to come. Now, I'll need someone to hold the map and lead the others, any volunteers?" A man who looked to be in his mid thirties with short brown hair wearing a ruined tux raised his hand.

"I will," he answered, "I'm good with maps," Ed nodded and handed him the paper and the walked over to the women and children's cell and walked in. He turned to face the wall that separated the men and women. He clapped his hands and placed them on the wall, making a good sized hole and signaled for the men to crawl through. They complied and piled in the small cell. "Okay," Ed muttered looking at his watch, "It's almost time..." H e looked up at everyone else and spoke again. "Now I want everyone to make it there. Capable adults, carry the children and all of you run as fast as you can. I don't want any more casualties..." They all nodded in agreement and thought of those two poor children.

Suddenly a loud alarm went off. 'The signal,' Ed thought. "Okay! Get ready!" The children hopped into the adults arms and they quickly got situated. The man with the map walked to the front. "I'm countin' on you man," He nodded.

"My name is Cray." he replied.

"Well Cray, I'm Ed and I'll be there soon. Keep 'em safe." He looked back down at his watch and counted off the last few seconds. "3, 2, 1..." He clapped his hands and slammed them against the wall and made the hole. The prisoners quickly sprinted out, trying not to fall over their own feet, and continued in the right direction behind Cray. Ed turned and ran out of the cellar and towards the next location to execute part two of their plan.

'I hope they make it...' He thought of the prisoners.


	23. Part 2

Ed ran down the hallways fast, ready to execute part 2 of their plan to escape. He rounded a corner and arrived at his destination. Two large metal doors in front of him were left unguarded just as he suspected. He pushed open the large doors and ran into the room, where Falman was waiting for him. Next to him was the Wright Flyer, ready to be "tested."

"Where's Fuery?" Ed asked Falman, out of breath from running there. He shrugged as an answer.

"He should be here any second," the man answered. As if on cue, the boyish soldier dashed in.

"I assume your role was executed?" Ed asked the panting man.

"Y-yes...They're...dead..." he assured in between gasping breaths.

"Good..." Ed praised as walked over to the plane. "Are you guys ready?" They both nodded. "Remember, you two rendezvous at the cave," They nodded again as he climbed inside, laying on his stomach.

Falman ran over to wall opposite of them and pulled a large lever on the wall. As he ran back to the plane the roof above the room receded. Ed took a deep breath and grabbed the lever in front of him with his right hand (Just as Falman had said) and pulled. He heard the engine start as well as his companions. The two turned ran with the plane while turning either propeller as fast as they could and with all of their strength. They then ran out of the way plane began to lift and took Ed through the large open space the absent roof had created.

Ed was up in the sky. In the freakin' sky... He never dreamed he would experience anything like this. The feeling was exhilarating.

It was a bit harder to steer than he thought but he managed as he glided through the air, feeling pretty proud of the fact that he had never come close to doing anything like this yet appeared to be doing fine. Now all he had to do was fly to Briggs and let the soldiers know that the prisoners were coming. He would have escaped to the cave with them, but someone had to keep this thing away from them lest they use it to start another war with Amestris. He would take it back to his home country and destroy it.

Suddenly, he felt a jerk in the plane and noticed the wind had considerably picked up. Snow and large hail began to fall. This was bad.

Large piles of snow began to build on the wings of the plane and started to weigh them down. The hail was the size of a baseball and one piece him right on top of the head. He became disoriented for only a few seconds, but that's all it took to make him lose control of the machine. The plane angled downward and began to fall. Ed frantically realized he had no idea how to land this thing and only had a few seconds to brace himself before the plane collided with the ground.

Only the sound of trudging feet could be heard as Amestrian prisoners fled to their appointed safe location with Cray leading the way. She held Sara, who's head laid on her shoulder and tightly clutched Beth's dirty dress. Silent tears flowed from the girl's tightly closed eyes.

Beth couldn't believe they'd made it this far. They'd been running running for only a few minutes, but she felt they were getting close to their safe spot. As she thought, a snow covered cave loomed 50 feet away and the other people in front of her slowed. 'So far so good,' she thought. 'Now all we have to do is wait for Ed,'

Just as she reached the opening of the cave, Beth heard a loud crash in the distance. She turned around to see a cloud of debris surrounding a crashed object about 1,500 feet away. 'Probably a Drachman looking for us,' she thought and hurried towards the back of the cave.

Ed groaned as his entire body ached. He sat up and noticed he was no longer inside the plane. Said machine lay 15 feet away from him, completely torn apart and nothing but junk now. 'Well,' he thought, 'That wasn't exactly how I planned to destroy it, but that works too...'

He stood and immediately noted pain in his left arm. It was probably sprained. 'Great...The only real limb gets hurt...' he thought sarcastically. Though his left automail leg had also taken some damage. Most of the plating had ben ripped off and a bunch of wires stuck out. Every step he took shot fire into his port. He stubled over to the plane's debris and transmuted the right wing into a makeshift crutch to take some of the pressure off his prosthetic.

Noticing the scenery was starting to look familiar, Ed saw that he wasn't too far from the cave. If he hurried, he could make it in time to travel with the prisoners. He sped up his slow pace and made his way towards the cave.

'Well,' he thought idly, 'Technically, part 2 is complete...'

Sorry for the short and late update ^^; I just started beta-ing Ariwarp Het's "Love Site" and Wolly0330's "This is War" So be sure to check those out ;) btw only 4 reviews away from our goal **and reward** just sayin... ;)


	24. Waiting

Beth continued sprinting towards the cave as fast as her winded and starved body could move. Sara clutched her shoulder tighter and burrowed her head further into the young woman's shoulder. She laid her eyes on the small hole peaking from the white background of the snow. An 'X' shape about a foot long looked as though it had been drawn in the ground with a stick. This is where they were running toward; this is the cave. Cray paused in front of the X and erased it with his foot then stopped in front of the cave and set down the little boy he was carrying.

The child crawled inside, and the other people holding children set them down. Beth copied their movements and put Sara down on the snowy floor. She gave the little girl a small push, telling her to go inside. Once the children were safe the women went next. It was a tight fit getting through the entrance but she made it work; though she could only wonder how the grown men would crawl through if a teenage girl had a hard time. Thank God none of them were really overweight. It also helped that the prisoners had only had a few table scraps to share as meals the past week.

When reached the opening inside it was quite a bit bigger than she'd originally thought. It was about twenty feet wide and there was just enough space to sit up but not stand. It was too dark to tell how far back it went though, so the group crawled back about twenty feet and got settled, waiting for the next part of Ed's plan to begin.

In the meantime, Cray crawled back towards the entrance and began to cover it with snow to keep the enemy from spotting their location, and to keep the wind from blowing inside. After all, they were cold enough as it is.

Beth turned to look at her companions. They were all huddling together in a feeble attempt to keep warm in their formal attire. Some of the men gave their jackets to the women and young children. Beth shivered involuntarily and crossed her arms over her chest. She twitched when cloth was draped over her shoulders. She turned and saw a smiling Cray behind her. "Cold?" he asked kindly.

"Yes…" she replied and hugged the coat closer to her, taking in every bit of warmth she could get. "But you…" she started.

"I couldn't live with myself if I chose my own comfort over a young girl's." he interrupted, anticipating her question.

"Oh…thank you…" she replied quietly and offered a small smile. He returned it and attempted conversation with her.

"You did the same didn't you?" he stated more than questioned.

"Excuse me?"

"Telling stories to the kids. I listened in and the kids sounded very happy despite the situation. You're just a kid yourself, and I'm sure you're frightened as well, but you put on a brave front for them, in order to keep them happy." Beth was surprised at his notion but then smiled sadly.

"I guess you are right. When I was first thrown into that truck in Central I was terrified. All I wanted to do was see my dad and my friends and that the ambush never happened. I cursed God and demanded to know why this had to happen to me. Then I saw Sara. She was just a little girl, all alone in the corner of that grimy truck, crying her eyes out. She needed someone to be with her, to be strong for her. I was older than her and I just couldn't stand to see a little girl cry like that. So I talked to her. It was the same in the cells. I tried to entertain the kids so they wouldn't be reminded of the situation they were in. Because it felt awful to watch them suffer. I guess we're alike in that sense." Cray placed a rough hand on her shoulder, an attempt at comfort. It almost felt…fatherly.

"You remind me of my little girl, Annie." She looked up at him and saw he was stuck in a memory. A fond, parental smile graced his face and he seemed very gentle in that moment. "She and my wife are back at home, probably worried sick about me. I know I gotta get home, for them…What about you? I'm sure your parents and your boyfriend are worried sick…"

"Well it's just me and my dad right now, but you're probably right. I miss him too…" She then recalled Cray's last phrase. "Wait, boyfriend?" she questioned, wanting him to elaborate.

"The young fellow helpin' us escape." Her face reddened at his mistake

"What, Ed? No way! We're not dating! Never in a million years!" she exclaimed, flustered.

"Well your reaction tells a different story." He smirked, digging his own grave.

"No it doesn't!" she swatted his shoulder and he chuckled. After that little incident they talked for a little while, about family, friends, what they planned to do when they got home. It was a nice break from being surrounded by all this gloom for the past week. Still she couldn't help but worry about Ed.

'Please be okay...' she thought.

Ed stumbled through the thick snow that covered the ground. His trek was taking longer than he'd anticipated, what with his newfound injuries and all. After about twenty minutes he'd reached his destination. He noticed that the entrance had been covered with snow, as though a person had manually done it. Sot they were there. He dropped to the ground in front of it and began removing the snow blocking the cave. When enough was moved he stuck his head inside and was greeted with a pile of snow to the face.

A/N: Long time no see, eh? I'm so sorry I haven't updated in forever guys! We got robbed and I didn't have a computer for a while then I started getting into another manga and couldn't get into the writing groove until today… ;) but I'm back :D Also, congratulations to DeathBySugarCube who was my 75th reviewer and gets a oneshot from me :D But do not cry my little gumdrops for my 100th reviewer will also get a reward :DDD so have that to look forward to. Also, I want to thank venus9814 for sending me such a wonderful review as well as all of my awesome reviewers. Seriously, I love you guys 3 Until next time -

Claire


	25. We're Back

The wind outside had died down some, enough to hear the sound of another person's feet crunching the snow. Everyone inside the cave tensed. Some of the women and children shuffled farther back into the cave while the men gathered at the entrance, ready for a struggle if a Drachman soldier found them. Though Beth knew it could be Edward outside it could just as likely be the enemy and they could not afford to take chances.

Most of the prisoners hadn't had a decent meal in a weak, and some of them were showing signs of illness, no doubt from sitting in a cold, damp cell all this time. A couple of them were showing signs of hypothermia and Sara had developed a notable cough which worried her. Long-story short, they were all tired, hungry, and sick, and obviously in no shape for fighting nor fleeing.

There was a scraping at the entrance, which told Beth that someone was about to find them. It seemed like everyone held their breath as the foreign hand reached through, and not long after, a head. What she didn't expect was said head to get a face full of snow.

Beth turned to see little Sara standing defiantly behind her with another snowball in her hand; a satisfied grin adored her face, happy about the fact that she had taken out their assailant.

She then turned her gaze over to said enemy whom she recognized immediately.

"Ed!" He wiped the snow from his face.

"Hey…" he replied, not really knowing what else to say. Looking around, he noticed the group's gaze was set on him. "So, has anyone else shown up?" They all shook their heads. 'Damn…' he cursed under his breath. 'They'd better get here soon…'

"So, can we go now?" a man in his early 40's with a five o'clock shadow asked.

"Well, I'm still waitin' on two other people to show up…" Ed replied.

"Look, I don't wanna start no trouble here, but I don't think we can afford to wait." Ed looked around and took in the prisoners' rapidly deteriorating conditions. They all looked tired and sick; they all needed a good meal and a warm fire soon or none of them would make it. But Falman and Fuery aren't here yet, and Ed promised Mustang he'd bring 'em home; he doesn't wanna break his promise. But is it really alright to endanger twenty lives with the hope of saving his 2 friends? Where's the equivalent exchange in that?

Taking one last look at the groups' gaunt faces gave him his answer. They had to leave NOW. Falman and Fuery roughly knew the route back to Briggs and if all else failed Ed would personally head back out there to look for them, but for now, the civilians in front of him were more important. He sighed.

"You're right. Let's go…" They all proceeded to pile out of the cave. That was when Beth noticed Ed leaning heavily on a piece of debris as well as his scuffed up face. When someone bumped into his left arm he notably hissed in pain.

"What happened to you?" she asked, delicately taking his injured arm into her hands and gently prodding it, eliciting an 'Ow, ow, ow!' from her victim.

"Takin' care of some business. The debris is over there," He hurled his thumb in the general direction where the remnants of the plane lay.

"Dang…"

"Come on. We can worry about it later. Let's get going…" she nodded and the group began walking. They trekked for about ten minutes before they heard an odd sound.

"What the hell?" Ed stopped and listened, hearing what sounded like muffled screaming. He almost screamed like a girl when the ground under him began to move. He was suddenly thrown off his feet as whatever had knocked him over rose from the snow.

"Shit! It's Drachmans!" the group was immediately put on high alert and Cray was just about to punch one in the face when Ed stopped him. Looking down, he saw a scuffed up Kain Fuery and Vato Falman clamoring from the snow floor's icy clutches.

"God dammit. Didn't I tell you guys to meet at the cave?" Noticing the weird looks from the group, he quickly assured them they weren't the enemy, then went back to bitching them out. "Can't you follow simple instructions?"

"S-sorry s-sir…" Falman apologized trying to get warm. " G-guess we m-missed the cave…" Ed gave them a frightening look before mumbling something under his breath and proceeding to limp onward again. "What was that s-sir?" Ed turned around angrily.

"I said 'Don't call me sir!' I hate it…" He limped on again and everyone else followed him without another word. They shrugged and did the same.

Their trudge took another hour before they reached Ft. Briggs. Amestrian soldiers surrounded them before Ed confirmed his identity and they were all rushed to the infirmary. All of the prisoners had cases of hypothermia ranging in severity as well as malnourishment. Thankfully no one died and soon, they will be transferred to Central hospital for more proper checkups.

Ed trudged over to the bed Beth was sitting on. She was wearing sick clothes and had an empty dinner plate sitting next to her. Ed himself was pretty happy but Beth had her head in her hands. He sat next her. "Hey you okay?" she spoke very quietly, enough that he had to strain himself to hear her but her word's got through.

"We made it…We made it…" Her voice was uneven as she tried to quiet her happy sobs. Ed merely smiled and put an arm around her, allowing her to cry.

Winry was in Granny Pinako's living room looking at old photo albums reminiscing in the past. She looked through many pictures which featured Ed, Al, and herself as well as their parents and other members of the 2 families. She smiled softly when she reached a picture of Ed, Al, and her not long after Al got his body back. A second later the doorbell rang. "I got it, Granny!" she yelled as she jogged to the door.

The person behind it was a young woman, around her age, with long, curly, light brown hair and dark blue eyes. She held a sleeping infant with hair similar to hers in one arm and an overnight bag in the other. Her clothes were plain and a bit dirty which led Winry to believe she probably didn't have much in the money department. She had a sheepish look on her face as she greeted Winry.

"Oh, hello there…I'm Ellen Wills…Sorry to bother you…" Winry smiled at the awkward introduction.

"Oh, you're not bothering me at all! Why don't you come in? You look like you could use some tea…"

"Oh you don't have to, I mean um—" She was ignored as Winry pulled her in. Moments later she somehow found herself on the couch with Winry in the kitchen.

"By the way, I'm Winry Rockbell…" Winry introduced herself as she brought a cup of tea to the stranger. Luckily, Granny had made some not too long ago, so she didn't have to prepare it.

"Oh, thank you…" Ellen said as she took the cup in her free hand, her son still in her other arm. "I wasn't really planning on staying long though. I was wondering if Edward Elric lives here? Is he here?" Winry looked down into her cup a bit sadly.

"He lives here, but he's not home right now. He's on a mission…Um, what did you need?"

"Oh! Um nothing really…Just came to see how he was doing…"

"When did you two meet?"

"Just a couple years ago in North City…"

"Ah…" the conversation dried and Ellen was about to take her leave when her son stirred on her shoulder. "Aw, he's so cute. What's his name?" Winry asked as the young child attempted to wipe the sleep from his eyes.

"It's Nathaniel," Ellen answered, and a motherly smile graced her face when she looked at her son. Winry smiled too.

"Hey there," she attempted to talk to him at first but was stop dead in her track when the child completely opened his eyes. She whispered very quietly. "Does he know…?"

"Huh?," Ellen asked, confused.

"Does Ed know he has a son?"

A/N: and BOOM evil cliffhanger. I've been wanting to write that moment for a while X3 Just remember, this IS an EdxWin story ;)


	26. It's Okay

Ellen's eyes widened in shock. "How did you know?" Winry smiled sadly and ruffled Nathaniel's fuzzy hair.

"Only Elrics have eyes like that…" Nathaniel golden eyes looked at her curiously before he attempted to reach and grab a piece of Winry's hair. She giggled as he lightly tugged on her pale golden locks. Ellen reached over to unlatch his hand from her hair. "So…why are you really here…?" Ellen stared absentmindedly into her cup as she remembered how it started…

It was over two years ago when Ellen met Edward. She was working as a waitress at her uncle's restaurant when He walked in with a few of his buddies and sat down at a table. They were obviously soldiers as they were wearing the Amestrian blue uniform. They probably stay here in North City when they're off duty for a few days.

She walked over to the group to take their orders. Edward was the one she noticed first. His blonde hair and tanned skin was uncommon in her town, but what really made him stand out were his golden eyes, something she'd never seen before. They were mesmerizing. She immediately blushed and took their orders.

He came more often, if he was off, over the next 2 months. Eventually, they got to talking, and she got to the point to where she anticipated his visits. She finally mustered up the courage to ask him out, and they started dating. Their relationship blossomed over the next 6 months, but each time he was sent back to fight she worried and missed him terribly.

They shared a night together and then he was off to fight again. They had both thought a lot during that time and when he came back they broke up. Having a relationship together was too hard with him being in the middle of a war. Ed had also told her that he had a girl he truly loved back at home. That hurt her, but she felt that their relationship hadn't been real love. She had just broken up with her last boyfriend and felt lonely. The constant fighting and killing was really getting to Ed and he needed a distraction.

She hadn't seen him since then, and a month later she found out she was pregnant. At first she wanted to send Edward a letter about it, but she didn't want him to have that on his mind while he fought. She would only be a burden.

Her parents were furious when they found out about her pregnancy. She was part of a high class family and things like this were shunned upon. They disowned her and she was forced to move out. 7 months later little Nathaniel was born and soon after the soldiers came home for good. Even though Ed was home now she didn't want to tell him about Nathaniel.

She began thinking she could be independent and raise her son on her own. Needless to say, it was harder than she'd thought. She had been a spoiled brat growing up and was a bit naïve on how others lived.

The whole experience was very humbling. She already had 2 jobs but she still didn't have enough money to raise her son. She finally decided she needed help.

Though she was also scared of what Edward would think. She now knew that she should've told him about his son from the start. The least she could do was tell him now. Better late than never. Though now it'll probably look like the only reason she came to see him was for money. Oh well; whatever anger was directed at her she figured she deserved it.

Winry had to admit she felt sorry for the young woman; Edward as well. How would he react to such news? Then the phone decided to ring. "Winry? Could you get that?" her grandmother's voice echoed.

"Sure, Gran!" she called and jogged to the phone in the kitchen. She talked with the person the other end for less than a minute before hanging up and rushing to tell Ellen the news.

"Winry? What's wrong?" Ellen asked.

"Ed's back!"

The pair immediately took a train to Central, where he was currently staying in their hospital. Ellen fidgeted in her seat. She was nervous about seeing Ed, and her stomach was in knots. Winry noticed this and grasped the woman's hand. "It'll be alright," she reassured her.

After a while they arrived in Central and immediately went to the hospital. Winry was worried because the soldier that called hadn't told her the extent of his injuries. She wanted to get there as soon as possible and make sure he was okay.

When they arrived Winry sprinted to the room the man on the phone told her Ed was in; Ellen trailed slowly behind, trying to calm a crying Nathaniel. She disregarded knocking and slammed his door open. It nearly scared Ed half to death and he almost fell out of his bed. "Oh…hey Winry…" he greeted when he calmed down. Winry couldn't stop the single, happy tear running down her cheek. She hugged him tight and he hissed in discomfort.

"Oh sorry…" she said as she wiped her eyes.

"It's okay. My arm's just a little sprained…" he chuckled. She sighed in relief.

"I'm just glad you're okay…" He leaned over and lightly kissed her.

"Of course. I brought Beth and everyone else back home. Everything's okay." He smiled.

"Well actually…" she got up and left a confused Ed to see Ellen just about to reach his room. When the girl walked in, Ed muttered, "Ellen…" Winry closed the door after that to give them privacy and decided to go get some coffee. She came back fifteen minutes later.

Winry knocked on the door this time to see Edward holding his son with a parental smile on his face. Ellen smiled the same way and Winry was happy it had gone well.

"Hey, Winry…" Ed called, "Wanna hold him?"

"Me? Are you sure?" Ellen and Edward both nodded, and Winry took the now smiling child into her arms.

Yep, everything's okay.

A/N: Well looks like this story will probably end next chapter ;( but do not fear! I will also be posting a side story here after the last chapter so don't un-alert yet! see you guys soon and hope you liked they chapter!


	27. When All is Said and Done

"Ellen…" Ed muttered. Winry left the room to give them privacy, though Ed didn't even notice. His eyes moved to the child in her arms and seemed even more surprised; he quickly covered it up with a pained smile. _I guess she moved on. I love Winry now, but I guess it still kinda hurts…_

"This is a surprise…" he chuckled nervously, "Seems you've been pretty busy…How's life? Married?" She couldn't stop the tears brimming in her eyes and let them roll freely down her pale cheeks. "Whoa, what's wr—" She cut him off with the words she'd been dying to tell him for so long.

"This is your son." She said bluntly and plopped down next to him on the hospital bed; Nathaniel looked around the hospital room in wonder, oblivious to the mood in the room.

"W-what? But how? I-I mean…" He leaned his head back over his pillow, covered his face with his right hand and sighed. Ellen gulped. _Surely he's mad…He should be… _"Why didn't you tell me?" His hand still covered his face, making his expression unreadable, but his voice showed irritation.

"I-I was selfish…" she started, stuttering, "I wanted to tell you at first, but with the war still going on, it would be hard to contact you. I suppose I could have if I really tried, but I was scared… I didn't know if you'd moved on already; it would have just been a bother. You didn't need that on your mind while you were fighting…" She swallowed. "After Nathaniel was born, the soldiers came home, but I couldn't bring myself to call you. I was naïve; I thought I could make it by myself, that I didn't need you. Well, it was a lot harder than I thought…" she chuckled dryly, "I have 2 jobs, but it's still not enough to pay bills. I came for financial help, but I also thought it was time you knew…" another sob found its way through her throat, "God, Ed, I'm so sorry… You have every right to be furious with me and I deserve it…" She leaned down and hugged her son even tighter; her hair covered her face as her shoulders shook with sobs. Ed didn't make a sound, and the was silent for a minute before Ed asked—

"Can I hold him?" She looked up, a few tears still sliding down her cheeks. He had his arms slightly outstretched with a curious look on his face. She nodded and handed the little boy to him and wiped her eyes.

Nathaniel looked up in wonder at the new person holding him and reached up to touch Ed's face. Ed chuckled at that and tried talking to him. "Hey there Little Guy…" Nathaniel giggled and lightly tapped Ed's face.

"Well, at least he doesn't have a height complex like a certain someone I know…" Ellen giggled. Back when she'd been dating Edward, some of his buddies had told her about the little height complex he used to have.

"Aw, come on…" Ed laughed. The two talked for a few more minutes and played with Nathaniel before Winry entered the room. The two looked up from their child to see the new visitor.

"Hey Winry…Wanna hold him?" Ed asked.

"Me? Are you sure?" The parents nodded, and she happily held the little boy in her arms

*Two Years Later*

There was a knock on the door of the Elric Household. "I'll get it!" Ed called to his wife. He opened the door to see Ellen and almost-three-years-old Nathaniel.

"Dada!" Nathaniel yelled and hugged his father's leg.

"Hey there Nate," Ed smiled and picked him up. "Hey El," He greeted Ellen, and she responded the same way. "Wanna come in?"

"Sure," Ellen agreed, "But not for too long; We gotta get home soon so I can make dinner," They stepped in just as Winry walked into the room wearing a modest summery dress with an apron over it.

"Ellen!" she wobbled over to the woman and hugged her, which was a bit hard with her pregnant belly in the way. "Hey there Nathaniel," she greeted him, "How are you today?"

"Good!" he responded with a big grin. His stepmother giggled.

"Glad to hear it. Hey, I just got done baking some pie; you want the first piece?" Nathaniel turned to his for approval.

"Alright," Ellen approved. "But only a small piece. I don't want you to ruin your appetite before dinner."

"Yay!" He quickly followed Winry into the kitchen. Ed looked on at the scene happily.

Ed was released from the hospital a few days after he reunited with Ellen and met his son. Ed had removed the die he'd put in his hair for the mission as well as changed the pigment in his eyes back to their natural color. Beth was reunited with her father, who couldn't have been happier. Beth and Gray had moved to Central, but they still visited Ed and his family when they got the chance, as well as Ed stopping by their house in Central when he was in the area. A few months later, Ellen moved to Resembool, so it would be easier for Nathaniel to see both of his parents. They visited often and the family welcomed them. Ellen had grown to become good friends. Not long after that, Edward and Winry got married, with Ellen as the Maid of Honor and Nathaniel as the ring bearer. Now Winry was pregnant and nearing her due date. Ellen didn't have a boyfriend yet, but what she didn't know was that she'd caught the eye of one of the villagers, so that may change soon. Ed was still in the military and saw Roy and his other military friends often. It seemed Roy and Riza were dating now, which didn't really surprise anyone; they all figured the two had been secretly dating for a while.

Ed was happy to see his two families getting along so well. It seemed as though his whole life had been a rollercoaster with Manic highs and Depressive lows. Everything had finally calmed down now, he could finally relax…

"Dada!" The little boy barreled into Ed's legs and knocked him over. Ed looked up from the ground at his son sitting on his legs with pie all over his face.

"Come on," Ed got up and plucked Nathaniel from the ground. "Let's get you cleaned up,"

"I like pie," Nathaniel stated on the way to the bathroom. Ed chuckled.

"I know you do…"

A/N: And there we have it! :D Pain of Automail is officially over. But do not fear! I will be posting a funny Epilogue that I think you'll all like. Here's a hint - Ling

BY THE WAY I have a poll on my profile about what fandom I should write for next and how long it should be. I want to have at least 5 or 6 vote on it before I post the epilogue. So, yes, in a sense I am holding the Epilogue hostage :D Mwahahahahaha So get to voting people!


	28. REQUESTS :

ANNOUNCEMENT:

I'm sorry this isn't the side story *is pelted with stones*

But I need to get my writing juices flowing so,

Any request stories? Oneshots preferably. I'm co-writing an original story with my friends and my chapter is coming up soon; I wanna make sure I'm ready.

And the story doesn't necessarily have to be in the FMA fandom.

I've been itching to write a -man fic for a while…or maybe Blue Exorcist or Bakuman…

Check my profile for some animes I'm familiar with and request some stories please!

Also: No yaoi please…


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